Update on The Synergy Project

The Synergy Project, an innovative art and marine science project managed by Art League RI, was introduced to URI’s Graduate School of Oceanography (GSO) community through two public events in the past two weeks.

On Saturday, September 7th Synergy artists and scientists participated in the GSO’s Science Saturday, a day of exhibits, conversations, and activities focused on marine science and exploration.    

On Thursday, September 12th, a welcome reception for the exhibition “The Synergy Project: A Collaboration of Art and Science” was held in the GSO’s Studio Blue. 

Artist Laurie Kaplowitz commented,

“The show is impressive! A dazzling array of colors, shapes, and materials on the walls, screens, and pedestals! It was very satisfying for me to see the attendees at the reception viewing the work and hearing their impressions. For many who came, the Synergy project is a new and surprising way to understand the important link between art and science.”

The exhibition run has been extended to January 6, 2025, at URI’s GSO Studio Blue. 218 South Ferry Road, Narragansett, RI.  Gallery hours are Monday – Friday, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm.

Colette Kelly, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and artist partner Betsy Ritz, presented their project “Cyclonic Flux of Nitrous Oxide”.

Artist Saberah Malik stands before her project “Forms of Every Breath You Take” completed with her partner scientist, Max Jahns, a Ph.D. candidate in the MIT / WHOI Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science & Engineering.  

Artist Victoria Guerina describes the process she used to create sculptures from seaweed. Her work with scientist Sara Gonzalez,  a Ph.D. candidate in the MIT / WHOI Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science & Engineering represents the impact of a warming ocean on the growth of sugar kelp."

Guests at the Synergy Project reception engaged in Dr. Colette Kelly’s presentation.  

Artist Sharon Cutts and Dr. Coleen Suckling, Associate Professor of Aquaculture/Fisheries in URI’s College of Environment and Life Sciences.  Cutt’s sculpture “Sea Urchin —Out of Water” was inspired by Dr. Suckling’s research and her work to promote commercial aquaculture of the purple sea urchin. 

Artist Keith Prue explains his photographic composition titled “Bloom”, inspired by the research into Harmful Algae Blooms by former Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution scientist Suzanna Clark, PhD.

Clarissa Karthauser, a Ph.D. candidate in the MIT / WHOI Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science & Engineering, and her artist partner, Laurie Kaplowitz, presented a series of paintings that will be transformed into a book of paintings accompanied by text that traces the journey of marine snow as it travels from the surface of the ocean to the sea floor. The book’s title is Marine Snow, A Lyric Meditation.