STEVE ROSTAD

My academic background was in biology. Historically scientists and artists have relied on drawing and painting of the biologic world to record their observations and inspiration. The use of these tools to describe and record its visual nature led me to a love of art. 

Although I was initially interested in a representational approach to morphology ("art in biology"), I later explored the biologic basis of our appreciation of art such as color and form ("biology of art"). 

A career in neuropathology naturally deepened my interest in morphology and how we recognize disease and healthy states. As a medical detective or diagnostician, I was attracted to the visual patterns that allow for interpretation of “normal” and devastating disease states, such as brain tumors, Alzheimer’s Disease, and multiple sclerosis. 

A century ago, the eminent neuroanatomist and pathologist and avid painter Santiago Ramon y Cajal drew masterful images that today provide a structural basis of the nervous system. I was also drawn to incorporate the intricate morphology of the nervous system into my art. 

Although frequently considered “abstract”, my art mostly represents "real" structures from the microscopic world. I frequently ask what distinguishes art from science and randomness, and what does that tell us about our attraction to it? I hope to inspire curiosity and appreciation about the structure of our biologic world.