John Bedoya is not your traditional landscape painter.

The Colombian artist works directly with elements from the landscape he depicts, gathering materials such as ash, rubber, dirt, and organic matter to use as part of his large-scale acrylic paintings, which are currently on view in the group show “Circadian Rhythm in Dark Matter” at Fernando Luis Alvarez Gallery in Stamford, Conn., until the end of the month.

In “Circadian Rhythm in Dark Matter,” gallery director Fernando Luis Alvarez wanted to tackle some weighty topics in art, concerning psychology and perception. “When the physical body is deprived of light, it goes into a tail-spin that distorts the experience of time, mind and balance,” he notes in the press release. “What this opened up was a question of the state of mind that artists go through when depriving their palette of color.”

John J. Bedoya. Photo credit: Olga Rudenia. Courtesy of the gallery.

In the short video above, Bedoya explains his artistic process, and how he approaches larger issues of deforestation and industrialization—two themes that fit in with Luis Alvarez’s dark matter. His muted paintings become conduits for conversation about the harm humanity has inflicted upon the natural world. Through his canvases, Bedoya shows us the stark beauty of a New England winter, created with man-made materials and bits of the nature, all mixed together.

“Circadian Rhythm in Dark Matter” is on view at Fernando Luis Alvarez Gallery, Stamford, CT, February 3–28, 2017.