Art for thought: painting neuroscience

Anastasia Greenberg appears to have a peculiar combination of interests. She is both a student working on her PhD in neuroscience AND a talented painter.

At first the connection between these two passions may seem weak, but after seeing her art you realize that’s not the case. Anastasia has found that the human nervous system is just so complex that it cannot be appreciated with the naked eye or even technology. Her art gives science emotional and aesthetic elements to reach a greater number of minds and hearts.

“I feel that art and science have a lot in common. They both try to capture reality while manipulating and enhancing it, influence future thought and action and ultimately both try to make the world a better place.”

With all the problems in the world, Anastasia struggles with the fact she cannot dedicate herself to many causes simultaneously. Her art however, has enabled her to at least acknowledge and bring awareness to a number of local and global issues. Her recent work has been inspired by a current issues and are meant to educate and inspire viewers to fight for social change and to make the world a more ethical place.

Anastasia then shares a portion of her profits with organizations working towards the causes she paints about. For example, a portion of her recent sales has gone to Skateistan, an organization that teaches girls in Afghanistan to ride skateboards.

“I want to create art about a variety of global issues and contribute directly to those issues by selling art and sharing the profits with organizations that I believe are revolutionary.”

Painting for Branch Out fits perfectly with Anastasia’s goal to provide art for a good cause, not to mention her day job! So far Anastasia has painted two original paintings for Branch Out which have raised thousands of dollars for neuroCAM research.

To see some of Anastasia’s beautiful and motivating pieces, visit her website at anastasiagreenberg.com.