Inquiry:
Five Painting Practices |
Susan Ziegler |
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Susan Ziegler |
STATEMENT
 I
am interested in exploring the energy and essence
of natural phenomena; translating perception into
a personal painting language that combines abstract
and recognizable imagery.
Each
painting begins with a compelling image, an impression
of light or color, or a sensation that resonates.
My most recent pieces are inspired by components
of the landscape; a sparkling pool of water, the
ocean’s edge, the play of light and shadow
on a mountain, or a cloud formation. I simplify and
distill forms to find what is essential and move
beyond the literal. I am exploring a vision that
lies between a tangible landscape space and a mental
construct. The imagery hovers between the real and
the imagined, offering a sensation of escape and
expansive space while allowing each viewer to bring
their own impressions to the experience.
My
approach to the painting process is inspired by the
formation of complex structures and patterns. Elements
evolve according to their own predilection to multiply
and expand, embodying the progression and pressure
of growth. I paint each form with a specific character,
materiality, and energy in mind and allow these forces
to shape the evolution of the piece. My painting
technique reflects different physical substances.
Central elements are illuminated with dense layers
of detail while secondary shapes remain diaphanous,
painted in thin veils of color.
The
nature and the development of my imagery allow for
the exploration of formal interests such as harmonious
and disjunctive color relationships, variation in
texture and paint handling, and layering of pattern
and shape. I am interested in merging the vibrancy
of a graphic language with a delicate touch and sensitivity
to detail in order to create a full and animated
space. Areas of strong directional movement or contrast
are juxtaposed with slow delicate passages of paint.
Variations in drawing mark, gesture, and repetition
convey a sense of expansive, ecstatic activity and
movement.
Ultimately,
I hope to communicate the sense of expansive depth,
and complexity found in nature and capture the vitality,
intentionality, and beautiful strangeness of natural
phenomena through a language of my own invention.
EDUCATION
2003 University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA,
Master of Fine Arts in Painting
1998 Brandeis University, Waltham, MA, Post-Baccalaureate
Certificate Program in Studio Art
1996 Amherst College, Amherst, MA, Bachelor of Arts
summa cum laude, Fine Arts Major
1995 Syracuse University in Florence, Italy, Studio
Art and Art History Program, Spring Term
AWARDS AND DISTINCTIONS
2003 The Charles Addams Memorial Prize, University
of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
Professional
development grant for outstanding artistic achievement
and promise.
2002 Susan Cromwell Coslett Traveling Fellowship,
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
Granted
for project to draw and paint in the rain forests
of Costa Rica for six weeks.
1996 Hasse Prize for Figurative Art, Amherst College,
Amherst, MA
EXHIBITIONS
2008 Hayes Valley Art Center, San Francisco, CA Uncharted:
Imaginary Landscapes
Louis
Meisel Gallery, New York, NY Soho Show-Off Penn Design
Show
2007 Gross McCleaf Gallery, Philadelphia, PA, The
Faint Edge of the World (solo show)
Williams-Sonoma
Home, King of Prussia, PA, Spring 2007
2006 Nahcotta, Portsmouth, NH, The Flower Show
DUMBO
Under the Bridge Festival, Brooklyn, NY, DAC Open
Studio Tour
Gross
McCleaf Gallery, Philadelphia, PA, Summer Group Show
Nahcotta,
Portsmouth, NH, Susan Ziegler: Of Sense and Outward
Things (solo show)
2005 AAF Contemporary, New York, NY, Pier 92, Nahcotta
featured artist
Solo
Exhibition, Gross McCleaf Gallery, Philadelphia,
PA
Spring
Sampler, Gross McCleaf Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2004 Nahcotta, Portsmouth, NH, The Holiday Show (December)
Nahcotta,
Portsmouth, NH, Celeste Lambert and Susan Ziegler
(two-person show)
2003 The Boston Drawing Project at the Bernard Toale
Gallery, Boston, MA, Selected to participate in flat
file portfolio project. (ongoing)
Gross
McCleaf Gallery, Philadelphia, PA, Summer Selections
Storefront
1838, New York, NY Living Room, Issues of Taste and
the Politics of Decoration, Invitational
The
Philadelphia Cathedral, Philadelphia, PA, Work for
Sacred Space, Juror: Elizabeth H. Doering, Artist
in Residence
Gallery
Siano, Philadelphia, PA, MFA Thesis Exhibition
Meyerson
Gallery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia,
PA, Graduate School of Fine Arts Awards Show
Fox
Gallery, Philadelphia, PA, Echo, Recent Work by Nisaluk
Chantanokom, Yuhlee Kim, & Susan Ziegler
2002 The LeRoy Neiman Print Center at Columbia University,
New York, NY, Myth and Hybrid, Artists Books and
Prints, Curators: Tomas Vu Daniel and Charlene Liu
Fox
Gallery, Philadelphia, PA, Print Ten, Juror: Virgil
Marti, Juror’s Prize, Best of Show
Charles
Addams Gallery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia,
PA, Studios Abroad and Award Recipient Show
Fox
Gallery, Philadelphia, PA, Fox Family Show, Juror:
Moe Brooker, Juror’s Prize, Best Work in Digital
Media
Meyerson
Gallery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia,
PA, Loose Ends
2001 100 North 1st Street, Brooklyn, NY, Art on View
1998 Dreitzer Gallery, Brandeis University, Waltham,
MA Thesis Show
1997 First Expressions Gallery, Boston, MA, Group
Show
1996 Mead Art Museum, Amherst College, Amherst, MA,
Thesis Show
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2007-2008 New York University, New York, NY. Adjunct
Professor, 17th and 18th Century European Painting
and From Duccio to DeKooning at the Metropolitan
Museum of Art,
School of Continuing and Professional Studies, Art
History
2005-2007 Muhlenberg College, Allentown, PA, Adjunct
Professor, Drawing I-III
2005Visiting
Artist, University of California at Davis, Printmaking
Department
Visiting
Critic, New York Academy of Art, Beginning Painting
2004Middlesex
Community College, Bedford, MA, Adjunct Professor,
Drawing I
2003University
of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, Adjunct Professor,
Introductory Drawing, Fall Semester
University
of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, Instructor of
Record, Drawing I, College of General Studies, Spring
Semester
2001-2002 University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia,
PA, Teaching Assistant, Drawing 1 and 2-D Design
1996-1998 Brandeis University, Teaching Assistant,
Drawing 1, Printmaking 1, 2-D Design, Intermediate
Sculpture
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Edward J. Sozanski. "Her Abstracts Are Full
of Life" The Philadelphia Inquirer (July 29,
2005)
Margaret McCann. "Full Palette: Summer Group
Show at Nahcotta" The Wire (August 11, 2004)
Russ Campbell. "Sketches from Abroad" profile,
Penn in Practice, (March 2003) |
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