Susan’s Stuff: soon to solo at First Independent Gallery

july 18 – august 11
reception for the artist saturday, july 21, 4 - 6 p.m.

By Moristotle

Those lucky enough to be in FIG’s vicinity (Bergamot D2, 2525 Michigan Ave., Santa Monica, CA 90404) during the coming four weeks will have an opportunity to see some of Susan C. Price’s paintings up close and talk with her – even maybe drink some wine with her as you converse.
    FIG Director Jeff Gambill observes Susan’s work insightfully in his announcement of her solo show:

Funny things can happen when you look at the paintings of Susan C. Price. You will think you see something, or maybe it feels like you should see something, and it’s likely you won’t know if you see something. And that’s where the fun begins. It is obvious that things are going on in her paintings, but not so obvious what they might be. You detect the suggestion of some kind of narrative. You see visual puzzles that tease with humor and wit. Price’s paintings are like the racing thoughts that keep you awake at night. As the artist herself says: “I see...something...” What you do see is paintings pulsating with color and pattern. Dancing around the canvas are shapes and outlines, the puzzle pieces that suggest fragmented figures or eerie interiors or wild landscapes. Everything seems on the move, forming or breaking apart in a relentless evolution. Her paintings are a sensory explosion, dazzling, mesmerizing, and satisfyingly mysterious.

“heart postcard, le smoking,” 2017
[acrylic on paper mounted on panel, 26" x 27"]

And Mr. Gambill quotes Susan herself about her work and her influences, and what she told him makes me a bit jealous that she never has said this much about those things to me – to us:

I see...something...I want to make a picture of it. I have been at “it” since early childhood. Currently, I am inspired by live models, photographs of people or patterns, or bad news. I search for forms that interest my eye or my heart. I love bright, intense color and frequently start with that. Then, stuff happens...I try assorted colors, tones, lines, and again...and again...until some resulting pattern of shape and color pleases my eye: being (in some way) “balanced,” large to small, dark to light, intense...but not all over. They start as some “thing”, they grow, and finish as color and shape puzzles. I am just beginning and I hope to get better at it.
    I have been influenced by my favorite artists and teachers: [Pablo] Picasso, [Pierre] Bonnard, [Egon] Schiele, [Willem] de Kooning, Joseph Blaustein, and Carla Jerome. From them I learn, and re-learn, color, shape, line, intensity, placement, and having a sense of humor about my work...or is that last part...all mine?

“safe is a relative term,” 2017
[acrylic on paper mounted on panel, 44" x 30"]

Copyright © 2018 by Moristotle, Susan C. Price