The Bowdoin College Museum of Art opened “ Regarding the Forces of Nature: From Alma Thomas to Yayoi Kusama,” a new exhibit in its Center Gallery and Focus Gallery, Thursday.

The exhibit will be on display until Feb. 9, 2014, featuring works by contemporary women artists who conduct basic research of natural phenomena, often focusing on the material qualities of their medium and on the conditions of human perception.

The installation features works by contemporary women artists who investigate the material qualities of their medium and probe the conditions of human perception.

“ Grounded in a conceptual understanding of art, most of the works on view do not represent the natural environment in a recognizable way. Rather, these paintings, drawings, prints, photography and sculpture direct the viewer’s attention with minimal gestures. In an ongoing research process, these artists foster an awareness of and understanding of natural phenomena that, for them, are at the foundation of art and life,” according to a museum program announcement.

The show includes works by leading artists of the last 40 years, including Polly Apfelbaum, Jill Baroff, Ann Hamilton, Christine Hiebert, Yayoi Kusama, Ann Ledy, Wendy Lehman, Sylvia Mangold, Sally Mann, Edda Renouf, Dorothea Rockburne, Alyson Shotz, Pat Steir and Alma Thomas.

The exhibition brings together significant loans with selected museum acquisitions and donations from the distinguished collection of Wynn Kramarsky.