statement

It hardly needs to be stated that we humans have a deep need to look at one another but exactly which transformations take place within us when we observe another human being, especially a naked human being? Leaving aside, to the degree that it is possible, any sexual motivation, what do we stand to gain by observing this foreign exposed "other"? What do we establish? Certainly; intimacy, sympathy, trust.  In fact, their "otherness" disappears rapidly. Or does the image provoke discomfort, an uneasiness with human intimacy?  Does this uneasiness reflect a lack of balance indicative of our times? What are the causes of it?

Every article of clothing, accessory, object that we acquire as good consumers contributes to our idea of identity which we form as a type of protection.  Our "stuff" allows us to feel as if we are more than what we really are, mortals. While the stuff creates a shield against mortality it also serves to define and separate us from one another, the haves from the have nots.  It is however the things which we have in common which bring us closer, not our differences.  What we all share is our physical presence on earth, our interdependence on nature and our collective subconscious.

By stripping my people of their clothing, I am stripping them of all social indicators, status, etc. and this allows me to focus on their essential being and relationship to nature.  The increasingly disturbed relationship between man and nature is at present what is behind the greatest threats to our well being and our future existence.  To serve my purpose I have picked up a tie to a very classic art form with a long tradition ( at least before the 20th century) the nude in landscape.  I am updating this classic appreciation of humanity and nature with a more contemporary way of looking; a more "photographic" aesthetic, more realistic gestures and compositions, less romanticism, while maintaining a tie to the long tradition of the painted nude through my use of classical painting techniques. Through this process, I hope to make my subject more accessible to people today, lest we believe that man´s state of union with nature, and with his fellow man, is a memory of the past, lost forever.

bio

born: 1964, New York , New York

education

New York University, BS, 1986

selected awards/honors

The Monmouth Museum, First Place Juror  Award, New Jersey, 2011
Artist Window, "Faces Portrait Award", First Place, Hamburg, Germany, 2009
SEHNAP Scholarship Award for Painting, New York University, 1984

selected publications

Saatchionline Magazine, Interview with Susannah Martin, Los Angeles, CA, June 2011
Art Domain Verlag, " Who´s Who in the Visual Arts 2012", Leipzig, Germany, 2011
Manifest Gallery, " NUDE 3"  Exhibition Catalogue Cincinnati,  OH , 2011
Art Profil, Erik Buchheister, "Susannah Martin-Spiegelung des Menschen",  April 2010

selected solo or two-person exhibits

Galerie Stephan Stumpf : Susannah Martin, Munich, Germany 2012
Museo Civico di Alatri, Palazzo Gottifredo, Alatri, Italy, 2010
Galerie Barthel: Susannah Martin, Menschen Bilder, Frankfurt, Germany, 2008

selected group shows

Fishpiece Gallery: Morgeluft und Schoeni Maitli, Zurich Switzerland, 2011
Galerie Marzia Frozen: Big Berlin-2011, Berlin, Germany, 2011
ART PARIS: Saatchi Top 128, Grand Palais, Paris, France, 2011
Manifest Gallery: NUDE 3, Cincinnati OH, U.S.A. 2011