Galactic
Gallery
Nowhere is the imagination more unfettered than in the
endless realm of outer space, and the artists in the Cosmic Cafe's
Galactic Gallery prove it!
To some degree, it all began with Chesley Bonestell, the
Father of Modern Space Art. Long before Earthlings launched rockets and
probes into the cosmos, he was painting realistic scenes of distant
planets, including his famed Saturn As Seen From Titan (right).
But thousands of others have sketched, painted and
digitized their visions of the endless cosmos. Some focus on the
planets of our solar system, galaxies and other known elements of the
universe while others create visions of imaginary worlds in the far
reaches of outer space.
The first work of art to actually make it into space was Arthur Woods' Cosmic
Dancer
sculpture, which blasted off on a Russian Soyuz rocket in May 1993 and
took up residence in the late, great Mir space station. Floating about
the Mir -- and even getting "lost" in its nooks and crannies -- the
bright green sculpture delighted the cosmonauts, who treated it like a
beloved pet.
In
1995, the first formal art exhibition in space was launched. Called the
Ars Ad Astra project, 20 works of art were selected by an international
committee for exhibition on Mir (left). The name of the exhibit was
"Space and Humanity." Though the crowds were limited, the collection
was greatly appreciated by the Mir crewmembers. One of them, Thomas
Reiter, said that the art is "a part of what is necessary to keep us
alive, to keep our memory of the Earth, of our families, of our
friends, of nature."
The Mir is no more, but you can still see the art that
once graced it in the Galactic Gallery. Enjoy it and the rest of the
our exibit!
Note:
All of the artwork is the
property of the artists and used here with permission. Any reproduction
or use by anyone without written permission is illegal and punishable
in a court of law.
Click
on the thumbnails to see more of each artist's work.

Chesley
Bonestell

Ars
Ad Astra

David
A. Hardy

Slawek
Wojtowicz

Joe
Tucciarone

Frank
M. Lewecke

Frank
Hettick

Kenn
Brown

Don
Dixon

Brian
Smallwood

Joe
Bergeron

Gary
Tonge

Andrew
Stewart

Mark
A. Garlick

Dawid
Michalczyk

Pamelina
H.
Catch a ride on the
flying saucer back
to the Outer Space Art Gallery homepage
|