Today we’d like to introduce you to Susan White Brown.
Susan, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
My dad was in the armed forces and we moved every two or three years when I was growing up. Art – and depicting people specifically – was a source of continuity and identity for me, a buffer in the constant upheaval and temporary attachments of military life. As a transportable skill, drawing was both a way of defining myself to others in each new place, and a quietly personal source of comfort.
I received a degree in Visual Design from Purdue University, moved to Seattle, WA, spent time in Europe, and eventually settled in Boston, working as a graphic designer. Having married and raised two children with my husband (while maintaining a lifeline to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston through constant visits), I returned to art school once our children had finished college. That period of three full-time years of graduate education is critical to my work today. I completed a Post-Baccalaureate certificate at The School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts, followed by an MFA degree from that institution 2016. Continuation of my current series of paintings is also supported by a 2018 Traveling Fellowship from SMFA at Tufts.
The “Looking at Looking” group references my childhood experiences, allowing me to ‘look at’ and document the ever-shifting communities of individuals we encounter daily, and consider their less-visible inner lives. By depicting museum-goers who are absorbed in looking at art, I’m able to address the fleeting solitude which can occur for people – although they may be in the company of others – in a public space.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
Frequent museum and gallery time provides me with the opportunity to gather reference photos. The ubiquity of cell phones in museums creates an environment in which the beholder of an artwork can be observed and their interaction with the art recorded, without “breaking the spell” of the person’s engagement with the piece.
Working from these images, I paint in oil on canvases of consistent size. This uniformity of scale results in broad flexibility to rearrange the groupings of the painted figures. When positioned and re-positioned, their relationships to one another, to the exhibition space, and to the viewer, can be altered, mirroring the changeable activity in a museum or gallery itself, and encouraging us to “see” each other more clearly.
At a time, when museums are engaged in self-examination regarding diversity of representation – in geographic location, choice of exhibited art, and public access – the “Looking at Looking” paintings can provide a reflexive opportunity for enhancement of that process. I hope that the series furthers the role of art as an eloquent partner in affecting culture through community.
What would you recommend to an artist new to the city, or to art, in terms of meeting and connecting with other artists and creatives?
Networks can be crafted to accommodate an artist’s work schedule or life requirements, and nurturing relationships is an important aspect of continuing to produce art. Go to shows, take up opportunities to meet fellow artists at “open studio” events. Explore the work that’s being made by others through periodicals, books, websites. Develop an online community by seeking out people and organizations producing or posting about art and related subjects that interest you (curators, foundations, colleges and universities, galleries, and museums, as well as individual artists). And keep doggedly doing your work, submitting to shows, applying for opportunities to meet peers through residencies, grants, and community-based programs.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
Paintings can be viewed on my website and on Instagram. I update both of these platforms as new work is undertaken or completed, and share details regarding upcoming exhibits. I’m also represented by Alpha Gallery, Boston, where a solo show of the “Looking at Looking” series took place in March and April of this year.
There are a variety of means for supporting my work and that of other artists: attendance at shows and openings, going to accompanying ‘artist talks’, checking in regularly on the websites of the artist and her/his gallery. There are a number of ways to expand connection to an artist’s work through media: following on Instagram and other social networks, reading reviews and articles in digital or printed newspapers and magazines; and just spreading the word among friends and co-workers when a person has seen interesting work! These are immensely helpful to all of us and actively appreciated.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.susanwhitebrown.com
- Email: susan@susanwhitebrown.com
- Instagram: @susanwhitebrown
Image Credit:
Susan White Brown
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