Susan Frei Nathan Fine Works on Paper is excited to welcome and represent Susan Rubin.        The artist uses maps as her substrate combined with a mylar overlay depicting the specific botanical species to its origin.  This botanical work is inspired and informed by its history.  Rubin recounts,”It was revealed accidentally, in the process of Kosher certification for Coke, that one of the primary ingredients in the ‘secret’ flavor of the soft drink was Nutmeg.  The history of Nutmeg from the Banda Islands, also known as the Spice Islands, begins at least 3500 years ago, expands to the world via the Spice Road, and includes centuries of battles waged by the Dutch and British to control the cultivation of the prized spice.”

“From the series of work entitled “Spice”, this botanical drawing with the iconic Coke bottle is a reminder that plant comes with a place and a past, while universally enjoyed.”  Rubin’s particular brand of story telling begins with an intriguing subject, identifying its source and combining the the two elements for further exploration.  Whimsically enriching our understanding of a familiar, everyday object.  What goes well with Coke’s Coca Cola in New York City?  The answer can be found in another of Rubin’s drawings to be featured this week on www.sfnbotanicalart.com, stay tuned!

Nutmeg, Myristica fragrans: Banda Islands, Eastern Indonesia, 2008
Colored pencil on Mylar over map, 9 x 8 inches