Recent destructive storms in California shone a spotlight, once again, on how vulnerable our communities are to the forces of nature. When we consider other “unusual” natural events occurring across the country and the globe, it raises questions about humankind’s role in creating them. Convergence Zone focuses on the human-planet relationship, featuring artworks by Deborah Butterfield, Ethan Estess, Helen and Newton Harrison, and Jean Shin, the 2022-23 Denning Visiting Artist and artist-in-residence at Stanford School of Medicine’s LaBeaud Lab.

A convergence zone is an atmospheric region where two prevailing winds interact. The air and water flow conditions in convergence zones encourage accumulation, including the amassing of discarded plastics in some regions of the ocean. The artworks in Convergence Zone bring together reflections on the human impact on bodies of water and how the planet responds with a spectrum of natural consequences.