The State of Things
Works on Paper
2228, mixed media on paper in 2 panels, 41 ¼” x 59 ⅛” (41 ¼” x 29 9/16” ea. panel), 2022
2227, mixed media on paper, 41” x 29 ½”, 2022
2226, mixed media on paper, 41 ⅛” x 29 ½”, 2022
1925, mixed media on paper in 2 panels, 41 1/8” x 59 ¼” (41 1/8” x 29 5/8” ea. panel), 2019
1924, mixed media on paper in 2 panels, 41 ⅛” x 59 ¼” (41 ⅛” x 29 ⅝” ea. panel), 2019
1923, mixed media on paper, 41 ⅛” x 29 ¾”, 2019
1922, mixed media on paper, 41 ¼” x 29 ⅝”, 2019
1821, mixed media on paper in 2 panels, 41 ⅛” x 59 ½” (41 ⅛” x 29 ¾” ea. panel), 2018
1820, mixed media on paper, 41 ¼” x 29 ⅝”, 2018
1819, mixed media on paper in 2 panels, 41 ⅝” x 59 ¾” (41 ⅝” x 29 ⅞” ea. panel), 2018
1818, mixed media on paper in 2 panels, 82” x 38” overall (41” x 29 ½” ea. panel), 2018
1717, mixed media on paper, 40 ¾” x 29 ¼”, 2017
1716, mixed media on paper, 41 ¼” x 29 ¼”, 2017
1715, mixed media on paper, 41 ¼” x 29 ¼”, 2017
1714, mixed media on paper, 41 ¼” x 29 ¼”, 2017
1713, mixed media on paper, 40 ¾” x 29 ¼”, 2017
1712, mixed media on paper, 41 ¼” x 29 ¼”, 2017
1711, mixed media on paper, 41 ⅛” x 29 ¼”, 2017
1710, mixed media on paper, 40 ¾” x 30”, 2017
1609, mixed media on paper, 41 ¼” x 29 ¼”, 2016
1608, mixed media on paper, 41 ¼” x 29 ½”, 2016
1607, mixed media on paper, 40 ¾” x 30”, 2016
1406, mixed media on paper, 40 ½” x 30”, 2014
1405, mixed media on paper, 40 ¾” x 30”, 2014
1404, mixed media on paper, 40 ⅞” x 29 ½”, 2014
1303, mixed media on paper, 40 ¾” x 29 ½”, 2013
Canvases
14002, acrylic on canvas, 72” x 54”, 2014
14001, acrylic on canvas, 72” x 54”, 2014
The State of Things
I am a news junkie. I read newspapers and listen to in-depth radio news programs and podcasts and am keenly aware of the rapid pace at which global events unfold. Add to this divisive local events and challenging personal experiences, and the world can feel overwhelming and chaotic. Yet while change and seeming chaos can be frightening they can be riveting, and at time even exhilarating. My work represents my response to this sense of dynamic chaos in the world and shows my struggle to find a balance between anxiety and optimism, between a desire to create order and beauty and a need to let go. I depict situations that are in flux yet held in tension.
I begin by photographing heaps of scrap metal reflective of our consumerist excesses, of our constant tearing down to rebuild our surroundings. I reorient the images to change their center of gravity then digitally turn them into line drawings, which I print and paint on top of. My intent is to create images that appear unstable, where there is a sense of excess, of tangled objects and forms in flux. Things might topple over or collapse. The space is not safe; it can feel menacing; yet it invites one to enter and spend time. There are worlds of detail, color, complex space, and subtle surface physicality to explore. Despite the chaos, the works offer an opening for discovery and invention.
— Susan Brenner