These torsos, full bodies and garments are a collection of portraits, memorials and personifications. They are decidedly female but in general lack the signifiers of skin and hair that would identify their age and ethnicity. They expose thoughts, feelings, memories, roles and identities by isolating them one by one. They give you the opportunity to look close and long enough to reveal the hope, pain, or reminiscence they embody. From plaster bandages to vinyl table cloths, the materials used for each piece are familiar yet evocative in their new context. Each garment or covering is a unique design and the armatures are formed by hand.
The armature assemblage sculptures have been shown in a variety of spaces both indoors and out. In the Fall of 2010 Susan conducted a series of workshops with garden visitors at the Queens Botanical Garden to produce three outdoor sculptures as a part of her QCAF grant. You can read more about the project in the blog. She has also installed her pieces in boutiques and in the NYC Fashion Center Business Improvement District's windows.
The "Bluebirds" are a new series of collage paintings. Their main character, the glass bluebird of happiness, is an item that was passed on to me by my Grandmother Sylvia. I was searching for my misplaced bluebird when I decided if I he didn't turn up I would paint him back into existence.
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