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Susan Grabel
Artist Statement
I am a figurative sculptor working with social and political
themes. My current work, The Venus Cycle, in handmade cast
paper and collagraphic prints, explores the reality of the
older woman’s body, not idealized but as it is with
all it’s lumps, bumps, sensuality and grace
Sculpting the figure in clay, making plaster molds and
pressing handmade paper pulp into the molds, I create figures
and reliefs in paper. The beauty and lightness of the paper
adds to the resonance of the work.
Growing out of these figurative works is a group of collagraphic
prints which are more abstract. The textures and colors
of the prints add another dimension to the work, showing
the female form as a part of nature’s patterns.
Our culture is so focused on controlling nature, that we
no longer see ourselves as an integral part of her ever-changing
cycles. While embracing the form and process of aging, my
work speaks to an acceptance of nature’s beauty, countering
society’s denigrative messages about older women.
Resume
Solo Exhibitions:
| 2006 |
Venus Emerging,
Soho20 Chelsea Gallery, New York, NY |
| 2005 |
Re-Printing Venus
(with Jenny Tango), Vlepo Gallery, Staten Island,
NY |
| 2004 |
Earth Venus: Sculpture to
Collagraph, Art Lab Gallery, Snug Harbor
Cultural Center, Staten Island, NY |
| 2003 |
Venus Pinups with
Jenny Tango), Williamsburg Art Nexus, Brooklyn, NY |
| 2001 |
Project Venus: Reinventing
Venus (with Jenny Tango), The Elizabeth Foundation,
Ceres Project Rm, New York |
| 2000 |
Reinventing Venus
(with Jenny Tango), Wagner College Gallery, Staten
Island, NY |
| 1996 |
Susan Grabel, Sonnenschein,
Nath & Rosenthal, New York, NY |
| 1993 |
Among the Shadows,
Prince Street Gallery, New York, NY |
| 1990 |
Susan Grabel, Wagner
College Gallery, Staten Island, NY |
| 1989 |
Homeless in the Land of Plenty,
Prince Street Gallery, New York, NY |
| 1985 |
Susan Grabel sculpture,
Prince Street Gallery, New York, NY |
| 1984 |
Susan Grabel sculpture,
The Art Lab Gallery, Snug Harbor Cultural Center,
Staten Island, NY |
| 1981 |
Susan Grabel sculpture,
Prince Street Gallery, New York, NY |
| 1977 |
Susan Grabel sculpture,
Prince Street Gallery, New York, NY |
Grants and Awards:
| 2007 |
Jentel Artist Residency Fellowship,
Banner, Wyoming
Excellence in Art Award, COAHSI (Council
on the Arts and Humanities for Staten Island)
|
| 2005 |
Junefest Exhibition Grant,
COAHSI |
| 2004 |
Original Works Grant, COAHSI |
| 2000 |
Encore Grant, COAHSI
|
| 1996 |
NYSCA Grant Snug
Harbor Cultural Arts
Honoree of NY State Assemblyman Robert
Straniere's Salute to the Arts
|
| 1995 |
Regrant Award, Staten
Island Greater New York Arts Development Fund
|
Commissions and Public Works:
| 1996 |
Regarding Women,
sculpture for Center for Women’s Health at Staten
Island University Hospital, Staten Island, NY |
| 1991 |
The World's Kitchen,
ceramic mural for the Staten Island Children's Museum,
Staten Island, NY |
Selected Group Exhibitions:
| 2007 |
The Collagraph Circle at
Gallery 6, Gallery 6, Staten Island, NY
A Place at the Table at the 440,
440 Gallery, Brooklyn, NY |
2006 |
Paper Slam! Innovative Paperworks,
New York Law School, New York, NY
25th Anniversary Friends of Dard Hunter,
Canal Warehouse, Chillicothe, OH |
2005 |
Friends of Dard Hunter - 2005,
University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
2D-3D nude, Gallery 31 North, Glen
Gardner, NJ
Sculpture New Hope 2005, New Hope
Arts, New Hope, PA
Fifty Eighth National Open Print Exhibition,
American Color Print Society, Cheltenham Art Center,
Cheltenham, PA
Nude International 2005, Lexington
Art League, Lexington, KY |
2004 |
Women in the Middle,
Union Art Gallery, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee,
WI |
2003 |
Small Works Invitational,
Soho 20 Chelsea, New York, NY
Ceres at 20: Birthday Duet, Ceres
Gallery, New York, NY |
2002 |
Tiles in America,
Laramie County Community College, Cheyenne, WY |
2001 |
Straight from the Arts: Staten
Island Artists Respond to the Attack on America,
Art Lab Gallery at Snug Harbor Cultural Center, Staten
Island, NY |
2000 |
7 Representational Artists
Approaches Using Paper, Soho20 Gallery, New
York, NY |
1998 |
Diverse Origens,
Core New Art Space, Denver, CO |
1997 |
Death, Dying and Mourning,
Ceres, New York, NY
Carving the Forces of Change, Artemisia
Gallery, Chicago, IL |
1996 |
Pulse Points, University
Lutheran Church, Cambridge, MA
Jewish Women Uncensored, Cragin Fife
Gallery, Brookline, MA
Reality Check: Cultural Questions and Political
Commentaries, Sylvia White Gallery, New York,
NY |
1995 |
In Three Dimensions: Women
Sculptors of the '90s, curated by Charlotte
Streifer Rubinstein, Newhouse Center for Contemporary
Art, Snug Harbor Cultural Center, Staten Island, NY
Community for the Homeless, Broadway
Gallery, Albany, NY
Buoys: Marking the Place, Art Initiatives
Renegade Space, New York, NY |
1995 |
Reflections of our Jewish
Identity, Univ. of Texas Health Science Center,
San Antonio, TX |
1994 |
Mother & Daughter Artists,
Ms Foundation, New York, NY
Point of View, Owen Patrick Gallery,
Philadelphia, PA
Doubly Talented, Krasdale Foods Art
Gallery, Bronx, NY |
1993 |
Clay on the Wall,
The Eastern Washington University Art Gallery, Cheney,
WA
Family Ties, Krasdale Foods Art Gallery,
White Plains, NY |
1992 |
Women: Diversity & Vision,
Art Lab Gallery, Snug Harbor Cultural Center, Staten
Island, NY |
1991 |
Giving Shelter,
The BAUhouse, Baltimore, MD
Exploit/Expose II Why War?, B4A Gallery,
New York, NY
Mayday, M'Aidez, The Tallahassee
Gallery, Tallahassee, FL |
1990 |
Women in the Visual Arts
1990, Erector Sq Gallery, New Haven, CT
Theater of the Object: A Narrative Still Life
Show, Marymount Manhattan Coll, New York,
NY |
1989 |
The Figurative Imagination,
Henry Street Settlement, New York, NY
Witness of the Time, Urban Institute
for Contemporary Arts, Grand Rapids, MI
Clayworks, QCC Gallery of Queensborough
Community College, Bayside, NY |
1986 |
The Contemporary Woman in
Art, WARM Gallery, Minneapolis, MN |
1984 |
Artists Choice Museum: The
First Eight Years, Artists Choice Museum,
New York, NY
Portraits: Form and Concept, First
Women's Bank, New York, NY
Visions 1984, Detroit Gallery of
Contemporary Crafts, Detroit, MI |
1983 |
Women's Perspective,
Mill Gallery, Guilford Handcrafts Center, Guilford,
CT |
1981 |
2 Sculpture of the 70's: the
Figure, Pratt Manhattan Center, Pratt Institute
Gallery, University of Oklahoma at Norman, Arizona
State University at Tempe, Dartmouth College Museum
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Selected Reviews and Articles:
Fressola, Michael, Body Work at Vlepo, Art Lab,
Staten Island Advance, 06/18/04
Sievert, Robert, Susan Grabel in the Studio,
www.artezine.com, Number 10, 05/04
Fressola, Michael, Daring to be Beautiful,
Staten Island Advance, 11/05/00
Raynor, Vivien, Color Relationships in Valhalla,
Family Ties in Krasdale, The New YorkTimes, 11/07/93
Fressola, Michael J., Susan Grabel's 'Shadows illuminate
isolation’, Staten Island Advance, 03/12/93
Fressola, Michael J., Sculpture with a cause,
Staten Island Advance, 10/23/90
Langdon, Ann R., Review, New Works, Old Wisdom,
The New Haven Advocate, 03/26/90
Zimmer, William, Mansion and Former Factory Offer
Varied Views of Women, The New York Times, 03/18/90
Fressola, Michael J., Focusing on the Homeless,
Staten Island Advance, 02/26/89
Fressola, Michael J., Clay is Art in Wagner Exhibit,
Staten Island Advance, 11/23/85
Fressola, Michael J., Island Sculptor Depicts 'What's
Out There', Staten Island Advance, 12/07/84
Brenson, Michael, Portraits: Form and Concept,
The New York Times, 06/29/84
Heartney, Eleanor, Portraits: Form and Concept,
Art News, 11/83
Bailey, Craig R., Susan Grabel Sculpts Her Concern,
Staten Island Advance, 05/01/81
Bass, Ruth, Alive and Well in the 70's,
Art News, 02/81
Glueck, Grace, Art: Sculptured Figures of 70's at
Pratt Gallery, The New York Times, 11/07/80
Collections:
Peter Agostini
Staten Island Children's Museum
Staten Island Museum
Teaching:
Visiting Artist, Chautauqua School of
Art, Chautauqua, NY, 2001- 2007
Lecturer in Art, Wagner College,Staten
Island, NY, 2002, 2003
Lecturer in Art, External Programs ,Wagner
College, Staten Island, NY, 2002, 2003
Visiting Artist, Laramie County Community
College, Cheyenne, WY, Spring 2002
Life Modeling Workshop, The Art Lab, Staten
Island, NY, Winter 2002
Museum Educator, Snug Harbor Cultural Center,
Staten Island, NY, 2000, 2001
Lecturer in Art, Wagner College,Staten
Island, NY,Fall 1973,Summer 1974,Fall 1981
Education:
Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, New York
(B.A. 1963)
Brooklyn Museum Art School, Brooklyn, NY,
studied with Joseph Konzal, Tom Doyle, Fred Farr, Jolyon
Hofsted, Stephen Karwoski (1961-1964)
Related Professional Experience:
Moderator, Reinventing Venus for the 21st Century,
Wagner College, Staten Island, NY, November 2000
Panelist, Visual Commentary on Culture and Nature,
College Art Association conference, Boston, MA, February
1996.
Panelist, Feminism in the '90s, Wagner
College, Staten Island, NY, March 1994.
Panelist, Art as a Vehicle for Social Change,
Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, 1994.
Moderator, Cross-Generational Views of Feminism,
Artists Talk on Art, Fulcrum Gallery, NY, March 1994
Panelist, The Artist as Juggler, Women's
Caucus for Art national conference, Seattle, WA, February
1993.
Panelist, Personal Power and the Women's Art Movement,
SUNY, New Paltz, October 1992
Panelist, Artists on the Homefront, Women's
Caucus for Art national conference, Chicago, IL. February
1992.
Project Coordinator for Taking Art to Heart's art
workshops for the residents of Hospitality House,
a shelter for women and children, 1990 1993.
Moderator, Homelessness: Causes and Solutions,
Wagner College, Staten Island, NY, October 1990.
Professional Organizations:
Women's Caucus for Art: National Treasurer 1997, National
Board Member 1995-1997, President NYC Chapter 1992 1995
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