Kovats’ works are consistently inspired by the “non-human world: water, rivers, the sea, the moon — the living things that I share space with”, the artist tells The Wick. She is known for projects such as TREE (2009) the first public art commission for the Natural History Museum, made to mark the bicentenary of Charles Darwin’s birth. Kovats embedded a 70 metre section of a two hundred year old oak tree into the museum’s ceiling, where it remains a permanent part of the architecture.

This synthesis of the human, manmade and the natural world is another recurrent aspect in Kovats work, who says “our relationship with nature is one of most important relationships we make and yet it’s broken, we see ourselves as separated and apart from nature.” Kovats believes that healing this relationship and reconnecting is possible, with effort and a certain kind of vision. “Our collective climate crisis demands we address this relationship and try to do things differently. Art can help us navigate our way through this.”

Kovats’ champion for The Wick is writer and curator, Ben Tufnell, former director of Parafin. “We did two shows with Tania at Parafin” Tufnell recalls, “and then last year I curated her solo project at Dovecot Studios in Edinburgh. For me, her work never fails to engage both heart and brain. Since the 1990s she’s developed a truly remarkable and moving body of work. Across sculptures, installations, ceramics and an incredibly varied drawing practice, she’s created complex and beautiful works that address our experience and understanding of the natural world.”

Referring to works such as Kovats Jupiter Artland installation, Rivers (2012) and her major solo exhibition at The Fruitmarket Gallery in 2014, titled Oceans, Tufnell says “water in all its forms is a recurring theme and Tania has made installations that gather samples from all the seas around the world, from all the rivers in a given region, and drawings that map the interconnectedness of land and sea. Her ongoing series of Seamarks, seemingly simple works depicting oceanic horizons, create meditative spaces for reflection. That she is not better known, more widely exhibited and collected, is a mystery to me.”

Kovats is among the artists included in After Nature, Tufnell’s exhibition at CLOSE Gallery, open to the public from 13th September in the Somerset gallery. The day after the exhibition is unveiled, Kovats will participate in Resonance FM River conversation with CoLab, from 11am to 2pm. Reflecting on her career to date, Kovats finds a sense of achievement in being able to“contribute meaningful and creative actions addressing our climate emergency. To have been able to be an artist for my adult life, continuing to share my work with the audience. To make, draw, write, teach and support other emerging artists and creatives.”