Public Reception: Thursday, January 22 from 5:00 - 7:00 PM
Gallery Talk: Thursday, January 22 at 6:00 PM

The Department of Art and Art History is pleased to announce the opening of Bert Emerson: Right Whale Extinction, an interactive sculptural installation in Salve Regina University’s Dorrance H. Hamilton Gallery.

In this one-person exhibition, the artist explores the fate of the North Atlantic Right Whale. Experts project this species will become functionally extinct by 2035. Right Whales are critically endangered with less than 370 remaining and only 70 identified as females. The Right Whale’s two biggest threats are entanglements in fishing gear and vessel strikes by boats and ships. Their survival is dire. Swimming along our coastline for more than a millennium, this magnificent creature is an icon of New England culture. In what would be a loss beyond words, this species now faces potential extinction in our lifetime, a devastating impact to the ocean’s biodiversity.

Visitors to the exhibition will encounter a life-sized representation of a Right Whale that the artist modifies through "technology" to defend against human aggression. This work raises awareness of the seriousness of this ongoing tragedy, exploring humankind’s mistreatment of the natural world and the vulnerable state of local and global eco-systems. In this exhibit, Emerson responds to the environmental destruction caused by humans with technology.

Emerson is a graphic designer, educator and interdisciplinary artist, using interactive digital media in the creation of Ecological Art (Ecoart). This exhibition showcases the work he completed during a sabbatical in the spring of 2005. His work aligns with Salve Regina University’s mission of “recognizing that all people are stewards of God's creation” and of “advancing environmental stewardship and sustainability on campus and in the community by integrating the social, economic, and ecological values of sustainable development into institutional policies and practices.” In one of Emerson’s recent app design courses, students developed web-based applications to protest against human-environmental entanglements and to advocate for endangered species that are otherwise voiceless.

Bert Emerson is Associate Professor of Art at Salve Regina University. He played a critical role in the development of interactive digital media for companies such as IBM, Citibank, American Express, and Adobe; earlier in his career he also worked in the pioneering of touchscreen technology in New York City. Emerson holds an MAT in Teaching from RISD and an MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts from Goddard College. His artistic practice focuses on individual responsibility, social action, and the role of non-profit organizations as the agents of stewardship and healing for our local ecosystems.

The exhibition Bert Emerson: Right Whale Extinction runs from January 22 through February 18, 2026. On Thursday, January 22 the campus community and the general public are invited to attend a reception for the artist. This reception will run from 5:00 to 7:00 PM in the Dorrance H. Hamilton Gallery. The artist will also speak in the gallery at 6:00 PM during the reception.

The Dorrance H. Hamilton Gallery is located in the Antone Academic Center on the campus of Salve Regina University. It is handicap accessible with parking along Lawrence and Leroy Avenues. Its exhibits are open Tuesdays and Thursdays 11:00 to 6:00 p.m., Wednesdays and Fridays 11:00 to 5:00 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays noon to 4:00 p.m. The gallery is closed on Mondays. We invite you to visit us.