Exhibitions

Sara Nightingale Gallery is pleased to present Earth Laughs in Flowers with abstract painter Nedret Andre and guest speaker Stony Brook University marine biologist Bradley Peterson on Thursday, June 30, from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. The informal talk and Q & A will address our seagrass meadows from two viewpoints: the scientific and the artistic. Attendees will learn the importance of this disappearing ecosystem on Long Island and what we can do about it. Peterson will share the success stories of restoration projects in Shinnecock Bay and the power of community in making change. Andre will share why seagrass is such an important influence on her abstract paintings, several of which will be on view at the gallery. 

Earth Laughs in Flowers resonated with Andre when she first encountered the quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson. She had been working with marine biologists on seagrass meadows restoration projects and realized there was “a great appreciation for this aquatic plant – its ability to house so much life, store carbon, give us oxygen.” Seagrass is among the oldest living organisms on the planet. The DNA of Neptune Grass (AKA Posidonia oceanica), for example, is over 200,000 years old. Andre was finishing her Neptune Grass painting when she interviewed Bradley Peterson. It turns out they both admire this ancient species that is native to the Mediterranean. Peterson mentioned, “Seagrass beds sequester three orders of magnitude more carbon per unit area than land forests capture. It’s critical to find ways to restore these habitats. We have lost 29 % of our seagrass meadows globally.” 

Sara Nightingale Gallery,

26 Maine Street,

Sag Harbor, NY