HOPE LIVES GALLERY
The 2025 Hope Lives: Art for ALS exhibition is titled: Research Renderings
Research Renderings combines the brilliance of ALS research documentation with creative artistic interpretations. The exhibition includes forty-three stunning artworks created by 29 wax-media member artists of the International Encaustic Artists organization. A percentage from all artwork sales will be donated to the ALS Therapy Development Institute, to help end ALS.
Each artwork was inspired by one of three ALS research photographs (see below). Some of the artists focused on the duality that is present in each research image - the beauty and the destruction. Others reflected on ideas like transformation, hope, the role of a caregiver and the ALS community.
Select the artwork images for a larger view and to learn about each artist’s inspiration and process.
Research Renderings
INSPIRATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHS
Research Renderings begins with microscopic research photographs. Artists reviewed and selected one photograph to inspire up to three new artworks for Research Renderings. The result is an exhibition that is thematically cohesive and relates directly to ALS. Each numbered photograph relates to how a person's body is affected by an ALS diagnosis: muscle tissue atrophy, spinal cord nervous system collapse and the loss of brain neuron and synapse function.
All artists are members of the IEA, which supports the growth and advancement of wax artists at all stages of their careers. They offer opportunities and resources for like grants, retreats, free drawings of chance, virtual and in-person exhibitions, residency resources, and more. The IEA is dedicated to building community and shared knowledge among artists throughout the world who work with encaustics and other wax media.
Image #1
This image presents atrophy of human skeletal muscle under a microscope. Muscle cramping, twitching and atrophy are some of the first symptoms of lumbar onset Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). When a healthy person uses their muscles, it is a result of neurons firing messages through the synapses to their muscles for movement. In the case of someone with ALS, neurons deteriorate leading to disruption in synaptic communication and ultimately causing muscle weakness and atrophy.
Image #2
Image of a human spinal cord, nerve, cerebellum, cortex and motor neuron under the microscope in a lab. When a person has ALS, the neurons that run along the spinal cord deteriorate and stop communicating with other parts of the body. This causes muscle atrophy and loss of movement. ALS imprisons the person with the disease. It steals a person’s ability to function and move, however, in most cases, their minds remain whole and active. The breakdown of bodily function ultimately includes breathing.
Image #3
This is a microscopic view of a neural network of brain cells. The brain’s neural network sends thousands of messages to every part of a person’s body for voluntary muscle movement. ALS disrupts the health of neurons, thus cutting off vital messages to the rest of the body. ALS specifically targets motor neurons, both upper (from the brain to the spinal cord) and lower motor neurons (from the spinal cord to the muscles), causing them to deteriorate and die.