Exploring the Great Marsh in Silk
Inspired by nature and by science, Susan Quateman’s silk paintings are exquisite enough to wear.
Quateman just wrapped up a solo show, “Silk Explorations of the Great Marsh,” at the St. Botolph Club in Boston. Her work captures stories of climate change and resilience in New England’s marshes, focusing on the Great Marsh in northern Massachusetts.
Quateman works closely with scientists, including MBL’s Anne Giblin and Jane Tucker, to research her topics before she paints. Her work reveals not only the beauty of the marsh but also help viewers understand coastal science.
Quateman has long interacted with many scientific and environmental organizations including the MBL, Massachusetts Audubon Society, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Refuge, and researchers connected with the Plum Island Ecosystems Long-Term Ecological Research site.
She met regularly with Giblin and Tucker when designing her silk pieces to discuss marsh restoration and carbon storage. She tramped around the marsh with MBL Whitman Scientist Dan Gibson while researching a project on the horseshoe crab. The result of these collaborations are beautiful paintings that also inspire one to think about the marsh’s vulnerability and resilience.
“The works in silk tell stories of loss that turn towards restoration and renewal,” Quateman said. “Stories of the marsh and its critters are vital in understanding our own vulnerabilities and inner resilience. Whether told through silk images, words or music, I think science and art must go hand in hand in order to make sense of our world.”
“It has been such a pleasure to work with Susan,” Giblin said. “Her ability to capture the beauty of the marsh in these silks is amazing and her work reaches people in a way our scientific publications cannot. I can’t wait to see, and hear, her next project.”
For her next project, Quateman is collaborating with Andrea LeBlanc of the Arperggione Ensemble on “Music and Silk: An Ancient Animal and a Shorebird’s Survival.” This multimedia performance will describe the intertwined story of the horseshoe crab and the red knot shorebird.
