Chantal Westby

Museum Spotlight Announcement
June 20-August 2, 2026: beneath this historic roof, I step into the light to honor 250 years of wonder.
In this moment, surrounded by centuries of stories, I make my presence known.
For 250 years the museum has spoken; I add my voice to its enduring chorus.
Thanks; I am very deeply touched.

More to follow

A hymn for the deep and a call for laws that protect the from warfare, , and collapse.

My Artist’s Statement Addendum: , , and the

The current confrontation in the Middle East including Iran’s targeting of commercial vessels, has exposed a terrifying truth about our global dependence on . More than 400 fuel‑laden ships and an estimated 2,000 sailors have been stranded or rerouted across dangerous waters, according to multiple . Many crews have been pushed to the edge: running low on food and water, cut off from their for months, and forced into a conflict they never chose.
These are workers trapped in a struggle created by poor negotiation, escalating retaliation, and an system built on and vulnerability.
This is not only a crisis.

It is a new kind of war, a .
Every tanker becomes a target.
Every sailor becomes collateral.
Every ocean becomes a .

And when a fuel carrier is struck, the ocean absorbs the wound.
, already suffering from , , , and -seamining, cannot endure another era of -fuel warfare. A single damaged can release more pollution than entire nations do in a year. The ocean cannot keep paying the price for our dependence.

We all know this.
We all agree.
The must change.
The ocean must be .

Definitely finished, nothing else to say!
Tectonic Hymn
Size: 15" x 60" x 10 panels
Medium: Ink/Minerals and Varnish on canvas
Tectonic Hymn emerges from my deep concern for the unseen worlds beneath us, those vast, fragile that live in the bottommost layers of our .

As I painted, I kept returning to the tension between wonder and extraction. The dark, mineral form suspended above the luminous became, for me, both a and a warning. Its golden flecks echo the rare elements now sought through -seamining, a practice that promises minerals for yet risks irreversible harm to life we barely understand.

My research into deep-sea mining has been both inspiring and unsettling. The is clear: extracting cobalt, nickel, and other critical minerals from the ocean floor could disrupt ancient habitats, stir toxic sediment plumes, and silence that have evolved over millions of years. These abyssal plains are not empty; they are living archives of our ’s memory. Painting them felt like listening to something sacred.

With “ Hymn,” I wanted to honor that silence, that pressure, that slow breath. This work is my way of asking us to pause before we mine what we cannot replace. It is a hymn for the deep, a gesture of reverence for the that thrives in , and a reminder that our
above and below are bound to the same precious .

Picture by Dr. George Westby.
Website: https://www.chantalwestby.com/paintings...

Reflections on our Endangered Environment
Philadelphia Ethical Society
Thursday, May 21 • 5:30–7:30 PM

Honored to join Reflections on our Endangered Environment, an exhibition supporting the Clean Air Council’s essential work for clean air and healthy communities. At a moment when environmental protections face real pressure, staying engaged and united matters more than ever.

Tickets are available now.
https://www.eventbrite.com/.../reflections-on-our...

Alongside remarkable Philadelphia artists, I’m donating my work to help raise funds for this vital mission. Deep thanks to curator Cynthia Haveson Veloric, PhD, for her vision and dedication.
Art can awaken responsibility. Art can move people to act.
Proud to be part of this collective effort.

Painting: Ink and gold on canvas 36 inches x 48 inches

Meet the artists:
Nancy Agatii • Diane Burko • Julia Clift • Talia Greene • Yvonne Love • Deirdre Murphy • Amie Potsic • Rebecca Rutstein • Hiro Sakaguchi • Simone Spicer • Cindy Stockton Moore • Chantal Westby See less

I couldn’t resist sharing this small but powerful clip.
In just a few seconds, it reminds us how urgently we need to care for our its wildlife, its , its fragile . It’s a gentle call to remember that we are not separate from . We belong to it. Every species has a purpose. Nothing is accidental. Everything is part of one i , living that depends on our .

But I also want to acknowledge something important.
This video was generated with AI a tool that, while extraordinary, comes with a real environmental cost. AI requires enormous amounts of and, increasingly, vast quantities of clean for cooling and . At a time when scarcity is becoming one of the defining challenges of our century, this contradiction is impossible to ignore.

So I share this clip with mixed feelings: admiration for its emotional clarity and concern for the hidden behind its creation.

It raises a deeper question for all of us:
How do we use responsibly without letting it replace the human effort, creativity, and care that true change requires?
Sometimes the simplest stories carry the most important , but the way we tell them matters too.

What are your thoughts? How do you stay mindful of your role in the ecosystem, especially in a world where even our digital tools consume the planet’s resources?

Evora Adventure Kids 1 like. "Big Hands Save a Tiny World . ​​ "

Air, Water, Earth, and Fire
36 × 36 in.
Mixed media on wood panel: acrylic paint, high gloss

This work reflects on the elemental forces, air, water, earth, and fire that have sustained life since the beginning of human history. Once symbols of balance and renewal, these elements now bear the imprint of profound environmental strain. As planetary resources are depleted and ecosystems destabilized, the interdependence of the elements becomes increasingly fragile.

Through layered textures and luminous surfaces, the piece evokes both the resilience of nature and the consequences of human impact. It invites viewers to consider the shifting relationship between humanity and the natural world and to recognize that the preservation of these elemental systems is essential for our collective future.

Monstera Leaf
Mixed media, 36"X48" Exhibition Wall Label
"This work presents a Monstera leaf, a plant often associated with abundance and vitality. Here, the artist reverses that expectation: the leaf is rendered in white, stripped of its natural color, resting on a cracked, wounded surface.
Through this contrast, the piece evokes the of tropical and the gradual erasure of their . The whiteness becomes a symbol of absence; the fissures, a record of the ’s injuries.
Together, they form a call to and an urgent reminder that the living world is disappearing before our eyes.

"Her work serves as a visual record of these explorations, inspired by visits to extreme around the world, from Haiti to the island's rainforests and coral reefs of Kauai, Costa Rica, The Redwoods, Bali, Vietnam, Puerto Rico, Japan, Taiwan, and Guadeloupe. Through her emotionally charged paintings, Chantal channels these experiences to ignite global solidarity in the fight to protect our shared .”

Artist’s Statement
"These images are my .
A tribute to the rain‑soaked leaves of Costa Rica and Kauai, to the resilience of Haiti, and to the sacred pulse of our wounded Earth.
I have walked through shaped like cathedrals, stood where rising waters erased paths and memories, glimpsed the shadow of the jaguar, and heard the fading whisper of wings.
This work is not simply photographic.
It is a .
It is a .
It is hope stitched with sorrow.
These images ask only one thing:
Feel. . .
They owe nothing to grants or institutions but everything to the sincerity of a path, my steps, my gaze, and the desire for a world where nature is recognized as kin, as family.

From Silence to Witness: A Photographic Journey Between Beauty and Warning
Album :
https://www.instagram.com/p/DL7WzcVuWUX/?img_index=1
https://www.instagram.com/p/DLzsp5CO2CQ/?img_index=1
https://www.instagram.com/p/DLr-tcHuWHc/?img_index=1
https://www.instagram.com/p/DLnCye2uOJv/?img_index=1
https://www.instagram.com/p/DLheftTuHiZ/?img_index=1
https://www.instagram.com/p/DLfAGQAu6AY/?img_index=3

Watching the Artemis II launch yesterday filled me with the same wonder that has guided my work for years, that ancient pull toward the , the legends that shaped our imagination, and the human courage to reach beyond what once seemed impossible.

My Legendaire plaster sculptures were born from this fascination: a dialogue between and , between the first dreamers who looked up at the night sky and the astronauts who now carry that dream into reality. These reliefs are my own collection, a small celestial tablet that honors our shared cosmic story.

As Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen travel farther from than any humans in history, they remind us that exploration is not only an act of ambition but also an act of stewardship. Every image they send back of Earth rising and the ’s quiet surface is a mirror held up to our own fragile home.

Artemis II invites us to look outward with awe and inward with responsibility.
We must remember that our most urgent mission is here, on the only we have, even as we celebrate this extraordinary journey.

One home. One blue sanctuary suspended in the dark.
May the cosmos keep motivating us, and may that inspiration guide us to protect the Earth that makes all exploration possible.

Left side: WHEN WILL THE LAST HUMAN BEING BE BORN?
Center: Remain Rainforest, Echoes of Earth.
the right side: Faith and Hope, N*I

Mixed media, 36 by 48 inches. Wood, canvas, acrylic, resin, a wooden cross with gold leaf, a metal sculpture, stone, a baby, a nest, a basket, and branches.

From the 2026 collection: THE OCEAN, THE EARTH, SPACE, AND HUMANITY.

A call to protect life, creation, and one another.
Faith as a compass. Responsibility as courage.

This work reflects my deep concern for our and for ’s role in its or destruction. It is a plea for respect, dignity, and moral responsibility, a reminder that our actions today shape the world we leave behind. We are interconnected, and the future depends on our choices.