Katie Kaplan is a Philadelphia-based artist whose work explores the natural world as a connection between mystic experience and environmental activism. Kaplan’s research practice begins by studying and interpreting ecosystems ranging from cultivated gardens to weedy barrens. Her multi-disciplinary creative process is rooted in printmaking and expands into sculpture, textiles, video, and installation.

For her exhibition at Philadelphia International Airport, Kaplan takes inspiration from the airport’s location at the Delaware River Estuary. The public generally has a poor perception of wetlands. This is based on the colonial view of wetlands as wastelands; places that could not be conveniently traversed, or easily mined for natural resources, which led to the draining and destruction of these landscapes. But lands steeped in water are environments in a constant state of creation. They serve as lively, vital habitats for biological diversity.

Kaplan’s series of separate yet interconnected quilts come together into a vivid composition of biodiversity and overlapping worlds. Quilting here is a material metaphor for composing and decomposing, making and remaking elements within an ecosystem. All of her works are constructed from fabrics that are dyed and printed by hand. Utilizing screen printing to create repeat patterns, she engages with decorative vernacular in a fluorescent, psychedelic palette. Kaplan explains, “When I look at the more-than-human world, I see adornment not as frivolous or as demarcation of gender, but rather as a source of power, communication, and survival. Vibrant quilts display material indulgence and gratuitous color and pattern, leaning into abundance”

For more information about the artist, visit www.katiekaplanstudio.com