In Leslie Wayne’s exhibition The Unintended Blues, large-scale paintings may a first read as photographs. Melting icebergs in the Arctic Circle, the island of Manhattan, harbor construction projects, and coastlines around the U.S. that are vulnerable to rising sea levels take center stage. The closer one approaches, however, the more fluid the imagery becomes, as some shapes and shorelines appear nearly abstract.
These latest works follow Wayne’s series titled This Land Is Your Land, in which trompe-l’œil paintings of airplane windows depict aerial views of the American West based on photos the artist snapped while in flight. For The Unintended Blues, she expands this idea beyond the frame and turns her attention to watery landscapes around the world.
“Artists are in a unique position to bring awareness to issues of great urgency like this by reaching the hearts and minds of viewers, not just with information but with the poetic force of their creativity,” Wayne says in a statement. “For this exhibition, I hope to achieve that by transporting viewers with paintings that portray the splendor of what we stand to lose by our inaction.”
Displayed out in the open and supported by an armature of metal posts to present two canvases back-to-back, the paintings become not only sculptural but environmental. Viewers circumnavigate the works, traveling to different locations and climates while experiencing a kind of everywhere-all-at-onceness. We’re reminded how melting ice sheets and rising sea levels aren’t a localized phenomenon; it’s happening everywhere. The United Nations refers the planet’s rising waters as a global crisis for the billion people who rely on coastlines for their livelihood.
The Unintended Blues is presented as part of the Lower Manhattan Cultural Counsel’s 2026 River to River Festival and is on view through September 27 at the Arts Center at Governor’s Island. See more on Wayne’s Instagram.
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