Location: United States
SUSAN HOLFORD
35 Brandywyne Drive, Florham Park, NJ 07932
973.784.3232
susanholford@verizon.net
www.susanholford.com
'Collaborators' -- my artistic world is full of them. As an artist, I cannot conceive of not having them as my treasured influences. They come in many textures and forms: bits of paper, rusted metal, old wood pieces, puzzle pieces, and too many more to enumerate. There are so many 'partners' in this process all around you, just waiting to be reinvented. The spectrum of paints available to artists now is wondrous and also invites experimentation. Surrounded by all these collaborators, the journey of bringing together the inner and outer vision of a piece becomes so tangible. How often have I wanted to put a sign reading 'Please Touch' on one of my pieces. How wonderful to know that someone did!
Perhaps, though, the most important statement about my work that I'd like to express is that it be a vehicle to touch people - whether emotionally, intellectually, visually, or spiritually.
RÉSUMÉ
EDUCATION
Elizabethtown College, Pennsylvania
Parsons College, Iowa
Art Students League of New York, New York City
-- studied under Vaclav Vytlacil, Howard Trafton and Morris Kantor
WORK EXPERIENCE
Art Therapist, Neuro-Psychiatric Unit, Morristown Memorial Hospital, Morristown, NJ
Teaching Assistant, Special Education, Morris Plains and Madison School Districts, NJ
Art Instructor, Montessori Children’s House, Morristown, NJ
Creative Heartwork, Inc., Morris Plains, NJ (Healing Arts for Special Needs Programs)
Private art classes for children and adults
AWARDS/EXHIBITIONS
2014 Newark Academy, McGraw Gallery, Livingston, NJ: Solo Exhibition, ‘Collaborations’
2011 Westfield State University, Arno Maris Gallery, Westfield, MA: Solo Exhibition: ‘Shelter, Homage, Synchronicity’
2010 Accepted for Membership in National Association of Women Artists
2008 Arts Council of the Morris Area, NJ: Outstanding Professional in the Arts Award
2006 Visual Arts Center of New Jersey, Summit, NJ: Solo Exhibition at The Gallery at Summit Library
2006 Printmaking Council of New Jersey, Branchburg, NJ: Entry Prize
2006 Annual Member Show, Art Association in Roxbury, NJ: First Place, Acrylic
2005 Denville Sidewalk Art Show, Denville, NJ: First Prize, Water Color
2003 Annual Mountain Art Show, Bernardsville, NJ: Award of Excellence
2000 Members’ Show, NJ Center for Visual Arts, Summit, NJ: Promise Award
1999 Annual Mountain Art Show, Bernardsville, NJ: Best in Show
1998 Annual Mountain Art Show, Bernardsville, NJ: Award of Excellence
1998 Members’ Show, NJ Center for Visual Arts, Summit, NJ: Emeriti Award
REPRESENTED at ACL Gallery, Livingston, NJ, and private collections in USA and UK.
For us, ground zero in the cosmos is planet Earth, with its life-giving atmosphere. But the air we breathe is a complex substance – how does one imagine it visually? How can something so intimate and vital to our daily life be imaged? How can the winds that move it, sweep it, calm it, embrace it be imagined? Can the atoms and particles like cosmic rays, electrons, muons, neutrinos, be thought of as a frolicking mass of energy swirling in intimacy and magic around the planet?
‘Effervescent Atmospheres’ is a series that attempts to bring to realization the exuberant and harmonious images of this life-giving source, a synchronicity of the inner and outer world we live in. In these pieces, the challenge is to try to imagine the invisible at different times of day or in different moods. Within them you might be able to find the scientific symbol for oxygen, the basic component of air-breathing life. The paintings are meant to be felt as well as seen. Go outside and let the air sweep around and in you. Open up your arms and go for an imaginary ride.
“1”
“2”
“3”
“4”
“5”
“6”
