Friday, September 14, 2018

Large Paintings - Portraits

"Natalie", acrylic on canvas, 5ft x 3 ft , private Collection

I paint portraits of people who strike a cord with me. Natalie was one of these women whom I admire, strong and independent, fun and a companion during my college (thanks for those long commutes between our homes and university, for three years in North Carolina. 
The painting was a joy to complete. 

                                                         Susanne Nielsen and "Natalie"
______________________________________________________________________

                                Big Beautiful Boys, (Christoph, Sebastian Paus), private collection, 1989


Thursday, September 13, 2018

Artist Statement and Biographical Information (CV)


                                     
Artist Statement

All of my work, two-and three-dimensional, is about patterns of life. Women's lives, above all, form an intricate woven fabric, expressed in sculptures created in traditional feminine craft techniques, sewn, quilted, woven of fiber or reeds, in color combinations that reflect a sense of warmth, joy and celebration, softness and soothing, protective and fortified against invasion. Vibrant Goddesses and protective nests, soft inside and hard and defensive exteriors present differing aspects of psychological and physical safety zones.

Sculptures, then, provide spaces the viewer must experience with all the senses. Their soft interiors, their bursting outer surfaces often imbued with color and stories command the viewer's attention on all levels. Sound and text have become important elements of the interactive sculpture. Ceramic pieces and found objects join fiber, reeds and wire.

Sizes range from two to 5 feet in height, with many a mirror image of the viewer and a number of sculptures larger in scale. The impression is at the same time elegant and imposing. Creation is addressed on a multitude of levels leaving the viewer to draw his or her own conclusions.

Materials continue to vary, fabric dominates smaller pieces, glazed clay components have been added. Abstracted figures symbolizing new life, take the viewer/participant from the experience of works as "toy" into the deeper realm of bonding and healing.

A soft-sculpture series based upon personal Myths (Ammenmärchen-wives tales), continues to include cultures around the globe, each represented in its language of origin. In addition to the use of audio, written elements have become integral elements to the work.

Painting as technique for themes of childhood and immigrant heritage allows incorporation of image and text. Each series of 8-12 images is created for a sight specific solo exhibition . The ongoing series has been inspired by formats of traditional Asian art (scrolls), combining pictures, text and after two major study tours to Asia ( Bangladesh and China) with added textile embellishment.

                                     


BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

EDUCATION

page1image2000
2016 Doctorate (magna cum laude) Universität Paderborn, Paderborn, Germany, 
Major: Art, Dept. of Humanities (Kunstwissenschaft) 
catalog raisonne of Cuban exile artist (Havana, Paris, Venezuela, Tampa) 
Thesis: “Monograph of the Cuban Artist Tomas Marais (1931–2004)”

1986–1989 Master of Fine Arts: East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, 
Major: Painting, Triple Minor: Textiles (Printing/painting), Mixed-Media Sculpture (handmade paper/ fiber/ installation), Art History (Contemporary, women’s art, regional crafts)
Thesis: “Vessels” (Mixed media sculpture and documentation)

1976–1983 Master of Arts, Rheinische Friedrich Wilhelms Universität, Bonn, Germany, 
Major: American Language/Literature, Minor Art History
Thesis: “The Women’s Role in the Short Fiction of Joyce Carol Oates”
(U.S. Accreditation B.A./M.A., English as Second Language, Literature (WES))

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

2007–present Local Coordinator Training (SARC) Youth Programs, U.S. Department of State 
2006 Graduate, leadership training, Rotary Leadership Institute (3-course program),
(Southeast USA, D6950/6990, Sunshine Division), Clearwater, Florida 2006 Certification, Relocation Assistant/ Language Trainer (German/English),
2006 Certification, Intercultural Trainer, The Interchange Institute, Brooklyne, MA,
USA, Completion “Crossing Cultures with Competence,” Washington, DC
1998 Qualification, legal translations/interpreter, FL translation agencies, law practices,

Specialization in business and legal translations and simultaneous translations 
1984–1985 PhD candidate, Ruprecht-Karls-Universität, Heidelberg, Germany,
(Asian Art History (research for further art/art history studies in U.S.)

SCHOLARSHIP/EXPERIENCE
ACADEMIC

2003–present  Independent Lecturer, Art History, Fine Arts, (museums/civic organizations) 
2011–2016 Doctoral Candidate, University of Paderborn, Dept. of Humanities, Paderborn, Germany
2004–2014 Instructor Humanities, Art History, St. Petersburg College 
2004–2011 Language/Intercultural Training, relocation assistant, local resource, IOR Instructor 
2004–2010 (German), Language Division Alliance Francaise de Tampa Instructor Humanities, 
2003–2005 Design, English, International Academy of Design & Technology, Tampa, FL
2003 Language/Intercultural training Corporate Training, SPC Corp. Training Center 
2000–present Instructor, Conversational German, Cultural Center for German Language 
1996–2002 Associate Professor, Art (Drawing), German (Program chair), English (ESL), Schiller International University, Dunedin, FL1994–2000 Instructor, Art/Art History (Docent Training), Drawing, Watercolor, Fiber, Gulf Coast Museum of Art, Largo, FL
1993–2014 Instructor, Drawing, Painting, Illustration, German (adult and youth programs) University of South Florida, Division of Lifelong Learning, Tampa, FL 
1989–1992 Instructor, Art Appreciation, Troy State University in Montgomery, AL 
1989–1992 Instructor, Conversational German, Auburn University at Montgomery, Montgomery, AL
1990–1991 Adjunct Assistant Professor, English, Auburn University at Montgomery, Montgomery, 1989 Adjunct Assistant Professor, Drawing, Auburn University at Montgomery, Montgomery, AL
1989 Instructor, Art Appreciation, North Carolina Wesleyan College, Goldsboro, NC 
1989 Instructor, Art Appreciation, Mount Olive College, Mount Olive, NC
1986 Instructor painting, textiles, drawing, Community Arts Council, Goldsboro, NC 
1984–1985 Instructor German, Adult Education Program, US Army, Heidelberg, Germany 
1984–1985 Instructor interior design, drawing, Department of Adult Education, City of Heidelberg, Germany

ART CRITICISM/WRITING (print/broadcast)

2005–2007 Writer visual arts, performing arts, Tampa Bay Scene, Clearwater, Florida 
2004/5 Writer, Lifestyles Magazine, Orlando, Florida
2001–2005 Writer, art, lifestyle features, Florida World Magazine, Florida/Europe
1998–present German Translation/Narration (voice-over work) of videos to market residential, industrial, and medical products
1998–present Freelance Writer, English/German bilingual language publications (Discover Florida, NA-Wochenpost, Das Fenster)1997–1998 Host, weekly radio show "Global Voices," with international guests and music 1470 AM
1994–present Host/Producer, weekly, German (language) Radio Show/ Culture Mirror (Deutsche Funksendung –Kulturspiegel)
1994 Freelance art critic, Art Papers, Atlanta, GA
1994–1996 Freelance art critic/ columnist Sarasota Arts Review, Sarasota, FL 
1992–1996Freelance writer (features, arts) Tampa Tribune, Tampa, FL
1993–1996Arts and Entertainment Editor/art critic Hyde Park Metro, Tampa, FL 
1992–1993 Art Critic/ Visual Arts Columnist, Creative Loafing, Tampa, FL

PUBLIC RELATIONS
2003-present Publicity (social media, Facebook, newsletters, blog content, website administration, production marketing materials: brochures, PowerPoint presentations) Rotary D6950 district and club committees
1998-present All aspects of production, hosting, publicity, marketing for Kulturspiegel /Culture Mirror – Deutsche Funksendung (website content, audio production of blog/podcast content) 
1986–1987 Gallery Graduate Assistant, Gray Art Gallery, East Carolina University
All aspects of publicity, press contacts, exhibition program/event coordination

LANGUAGES German (native), English (accent-free, fluent), (conversational) French, Spanish (reading comprehension)

AWARDS/GRANTS
2023 Merit Award, Sculpture, PAVA Members Exhibition, Dunedin (250.-) 
2015/16 District Governor’s Citation Award as District Alumni Chair
2014/15 Rotary International Foundation Zone 34 Alumni Service to Humanity 
Award
2013/14 District Governor’s “District 6950 Rotarian of the Year” Award
2012/13 District Governor’s Citation Award as District Alumni Chair
2011/12 Rotary E-Club of SE USA & Caribbean “Rotarian of the Year”Award 

2007 Study trip to Salt Lake City (Sponsor Rotary International)
2006 International Cultural/Vocational (GSE) Study Exchange, Study of Arts in

Bangladesh, team leader (Sponsor Rotary International District 6950) 
2005/6 Rotary International Foundation Service Award
2005/6 District Governor’s Recognition Award as District Alumni Committee 
Chair 
2005/6 District Governor’s Recognition Award as Group Study Exchange Team Leader to Bangladesh
2006 Rotary International Foundation Paul Harris Fellowship Award
2005 Rotary Foundation Group Study Exchange scholarship (Team leader of

all-women team on 1-month cultural/vocational exchange to Bangladesh) 
2003 Honorable Mention, Concorso Rapido Dunedin Art Center, Dunedin, FL 
2002 International Cultural/Vocational (GSE) Study Exchange, Study of Arts in Eastern Germany (Berlin, Leipzig, Dresden, Bayreuth, Chemnitz, Regensburg), team member (Sponsor Rotary International District 6950) 
2002 Honorable Mention Surface Design Guild Show, Beach Art Center, St.Pete Beach, FL
2001 HonorableMention Surface DesignGuild Show, Beach Art Center, St.Pete Beach, FL
“Diversity!”International Juried Exhibition of Studio Art Quilts, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN.Juried by Yoshiko Iwamoto Wada, Center for Japanese Studies, University of California, Berkeley
Merit Award, Sculpture, Gasparilla Festival of the Arts, ($1000.-) 
Emerging Artist Grant, Arts Council of Hillsborough County ($1000.-) 
Graduate Scholarship, ECU Graduate Scholarship Fund

MEMBERSHIPS: 
North Suncoast Associates, Clearwater, FL
Cercle Francais de Pinellas, Pinellas, FL
Las Damas de Arte, Tampa,FL
Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa, FL
Internations, Inc.
Rotary E-Club Southeast USA & Caribbean, D6950, West Florida, (President 2013-14)
District Alumni Chair, 2004-2006, 2012-16, Alumni committee Speakers Bureau founder/coordinator,

District Youth Exchange Chair, Deputy Chair Pinellas County, Rotary Youth Exchange Intercultural Trainer/ Outbound Recruiter,
PAVA (Professional Association of Visual Artists), Tampa Bay, FL 

Cultural Center for German Language (President 1996–present), Tampa, FL 
Salvador Dali Museum, St. Petersburg, FL
St. Petersburg Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, FL 
National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington D.C.

INTERNATIONAL:

Doctoral research in Europe (Germany, France, Netherlands), university lectures/presentations
China educational 1-month travel (for college humanities instruction) Team leader, cultural/vocational Rotary Foundation Group Study Cultural and vocational exchange to Bangladesh (1-month travel/host family stay) Team member of cultural/vocational Rotary Foundation Group Study Exchange to Germany (RI District 1880)

Annual educational study/research in Europe (Germany, France, Netherlands, Switzerland) to visit arts/architecture/events as research and to present current developments in lectures and educational context
Cuban Arts in the 20/21st Century
Cuban Artist Tomas Marais: Migration, Metamorphosis, and Masquerade, Leepa Rattner Museum, Tarpon Springs, FL
Bangladesh, a Cultural Experience
Intercultural Communications – A Study, Florida Literacy Council

JURIED EXHIBITIONS
2023 Merit Award, Sculpture, PAVA Members Exhibition, Dunedin, FL ( Judge: Christine Renc-Carter, Director Leepa-Rattner Museum, Tarpon Springs, FL)
1998 Merit Award, Sculpture, Gasparilla Festival of the Arts, Tampa, FL (Judge: Thelma    Golden,  Curator & Director of Branches, Whitney Museum of American Art, NewYork City, NY.)
1992 Second Prize in Fiber, SAC’s Gallery, Montgomery, AL1991 BEST OF SHOW, The 1991 Montgomery Art Guild Museum Exhibition,
Montgomery, AL
1991 
Honorable Mention, The 1991 Montgomery Art Guild Museum
Exhibition, Montgomery, AL. (Juror: Xenia Zed, Assistant Dean,
Atlanta College of Art)
1989 
National Spinning Award, Beaufort County Arts Council Annual Arts
Show, Washington, NC.
1989 
Honorable Mention in Sculpture, Rocky Mount 32nd Annual Outdoor
Art Show, Rocky Mount Arts Center, Rocky Mount, NC.
1988 
1st Prize in Textural Art & National Spinning Award Beaufort County
Arts Council Annual Arts Show, Washington, NC. Juried by: Sallie
Middleton, Ashville, NC
1988 
Honorable Mention in Painting, Rocky Mount 31st Annual Outdoor Art
Show, Rocky Mount Arts Center, Rocky Mount, NC.
1987 
1st Prize in Watercolor, Annual Art Competition, Community Council
for the Arts, Kinston, NC. (Juror: Houston Paschal, Curator North
Carolina Museum of Art)
1987 
1st Prize in Textural Arts, Beaufort County Arts Council Annual Arts
Show, Washington, N. C. (Juror: artist Barclay Sheaks, Virginia)
1987 
Honorable Mention in Watercolor, Rocky Mount 30th Annual Outdoor
Art Show Rocky Mount Arts Center. (Juror: Robert B. Dance, Winston-
Salem, NC)
1986 
1st Prize in Textural Arts, Beaufort County Arts Council 1986 Fine Arts
Show, Washington, NC (Juror: Clint Carter, Watercolor/acryllic artist,
representative of Windsor Newton)
1986 
1st Prize in Fiber, 3rd Place in Watercolor. Wilson Active Artists
Association Annual Spring Art Show.(Juror: Mary Ann Pennignton, Executive Director, Greenville Museum of Art, Greenville, NC)

REPRESENTATION: www.pava-artists.org/Nielsen www.susannenielsenarts.blogspot.com,
page5image17768 page5image17928
COLLECTIONS
Bauer Dentistry, Tampa, FL
Jung Winery, Ruedesheim, Germany
Craft for the Senses Collection, Cummer Gallery, Jacksonville
Vinyl Details, Inc. Montgomery, AL
National Library, Reykjavik, Iceland (MA, MFA Thesis documentation) 

GSK - GlaxoSmithKline, Greenville, NC
Seymour Johnson AFB, Goldsboro, NC Pitt Memorial Hospital, Greenville, NC Associated Artists, Winston-Salem, NC
GRANTS/AWARDS
2008 International Study (4 weeks) arts and culture of China,
2007 Study trip to Salt Lake City (Sponsor Rotary International)
2006 International Cultural/Vocational (GSE) Study Exchange, Study of Arts in

Bangladesh, team leader (Sponsor Rotary International District 6950) 2002 International Cultural/Vocational (GSE) Study of Arts in Eastern Germany
(Berlin, Leipzig, Dresden, Bayreuth, Chemnitz, Regensburg), team member (Sponsor Rotary International District 6950)
1994 Emerging Artist Grant, Arts Council of Hillsborough County ($1000.-) 1988 East Carolina University Graduate Fund grant
DOCUMENTATION
"Die Kleider Meiner Mutter" Elke Elbern, General Anzeiger, Bonn, Mai 2021
“Susanne Nielsen über den kubanischen Künstler Tomas Marais,” Paderborner Universitätszeitschrift, Paderborn, Germany, 1-2016“Podcast offers Germans in Tampa a slice of home, The Tampa Tribune, September 6, 2015
“Deutsch-Amerikanische Künstlerin stellt aus”, Nordamerikanische Wochenpost, 2015
“Die Wiesbadenerin Susanne Nielsen versorgt in ihrer "German Radio Show" halb Florida mit allerlei deutschen Geschichten,” Wiesbadener Kurier, January 9, 2015

“Deutsch-Amerikanische Kuenstlerin stellt aus”, Nordamerikanische Wochenpost, 2012
“Von der Weser nach Florida: Schaumburger Braut baut Brücke,” 
Schaumburger Zeitung.de, April 13.2012
“Rintelner Tracht für Fahnenumzug im heißen Florida, Radioreporterin weiter auf Spurensuche,” Schaumburger Zeitung.de, February 2.2012 ”In Florida Daheim, in der Welt zuhause”, Floridasunmagazine.com, March 9, 2012
“Fast so schön wie Nachtisch...Die Künstlerin Susanne Nielsen ist eine Wanderin zwischen zwei Welten/Viele Motive findet sie auf ihren Reisen, Wiesbadener Kurier-Wiesbadener Tagblatt, October 14, 2010 “Spurensuche in Rinteln fuer “German Radio” in Florida, Schaumburger Zeitung.de, August 17, 2010
“Exhibit spells out Love for Mothers,”Tampa Tribune, May 10, 2009 “Werke v. Susanne Nielsen im deutschen Generalkonsulat Miami zu sehen, Nordamerikanische Wochenpost, Februar 2007
“Deutsches Generalkonsulat v. Miami, FL: Ausstellung Susanne Nielsen,” 
Das Fenster, April 2007
“Bangladesh Burns Bright in Memories,” South Tampa News, 2/28/07 “Frauen ins Bild gesetzt”, Das Fenster, February 2006
“Sie zeigt uns die 50er Jahre”, 
Wiesbadener Tageblatt, July 2, 2005 “Sprechen Sie Kultur?” Florida Sun, February 2005
“Vergangenheit fährt durch die Stadt”, Wiesbadener Tageblatt, July 3, 2004 “Textilkunst,”Reisefieber, Florida, August/September 2002On the Ball, over 80 artists put a new spin on the classic Bowling Ball, coll. T.Ramquist/ Kiralinda, authority press, Alpharetta, GA
"Surface Design Guild show," St. Petersburg Times, September 20, 2001 "The art around us," St. Petersburg Times, July 16, 1999
“Deutsche Funksendung unter neuer Leitung, Deutsche Journalistin und Künstlerin Susanne Nielsen übernimmt Gesamtleitung der Deutschen Funksendung,” 
Reisefieber, Februar/Maerz 1999
"Neue Stimme" erinnert Auswanderer an ihre Sprache/Wiesb.
Künstlerin mit deutschem Kulturprogramm,Wiesbadener Kurier, 8/27/98 "Diversity! Studio Art Quilts, 
Muscarelle Museum of Art newsletter, summer 1998, College William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA
"E Pluribus Art," 
The Times, St. Petersburg, FL, March 2, 1998 "Instructor Chats Up Art on the Radio," South Tampa News, Oct 23, 1996 "Diversity: Quilts at Arrowmont," Fiberarts: National Magazine of Textiles, Summer 96
"A Wordly, Colorful Force Keeps Bridging Gaps," The Times, 1/21/95 "A Hot Opportunity," The Times, St. Petersburg, FL, August 25, 1995 "Fame Game," The Times, St. Petersburg, FL, June 9, 1995
"A New Wave of Art," 
The Times, St. Petersburg, FL, May 12, 1995 "Action frees artists' dreams," The Oracle, Tampa, FL, March 1, 1994 "Women's Works," art review, The News & Observer, Raleigh, NC, Jun18, 1993
“Art Gallery provides alternative,”Tampa Tribune, August 13, 1993 "Drawn to be Different," Documentary, Artifice Rex, Alabama Public
Television, April 30, 1992, 8:00 pm.
"Vessels, Guild Exhibition Winner Sees Art in many Facets of Life," 
The Alabama Journal, January 24, 1991
"Artist's Work Is Receiving Attention," 
News Argus, August 10, 1988 "Work by Six Artists on View in Greenville Shows," The Daily Reflector, October 25, 1987
"N.C. Art Exhibits Deserve Attention," 
News Argus, October 18, 1987 "The Arts," News Argus, September 14, 1986
"Seidenmalerei Ausstellung," 
Rhein Neckar Zeitung, Heidelberg, Germany, December 18, 1984
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Monograph of the Cuban Artist Tomas Marais (19312004) (Doctoral dissertation). Göttingen, Germany: Sierke. 2016
Artist interviews, features, Culture Mirror, 1996–present
Concepts of Line and Space, The art of Paul Klee and Lutz Fritsch,” The Arts, 
Tampa Bay Scene, Dec/Jan 2007
“Physical World: The art of Lynn Davison and Tom Tykwer’s ‘The Perfume’,” The Arts, 
Tampa Bay Scene, Oct 2006
“Opening Our Eyes to Color: Joseph Albers, ‘Homage to the Square” at the Tampa Museum of Art,” The Arts, 
Tampa Bay Scene, Nov 2006
What Dreams may come, Croatian Naïve Art on Glass,” The Arts, 
Tampa Bay Scene, Nov 2006
“Artist of the State Christopher Still, Florida’s History in Paintings,” 
Florida World, July-September 2004
“Close and very Personal, Chuck Close Prints – Process and Collaboration at the Miami Art Museum,’ 
Florida World, July-September 2004 “Miami’s Hidden Spiritual Refuge: The Cloisters of the Ancient Spanish Monastery and St. Clairvaux Episcopal Church,” Florida World, April- June 2002
“Salvador Dali: Master of the Surreal – Double Exposure Comes to St. Petersburg,” Florida World Apr-June 2002
“Opera – Stories of Life: Composer and Conductor Anton Coppola, Gentleman of Music,” Florida World Apr–-June 2002
“Master Class: Two Voice Professors in Perfect Harmony, Florida World, Jan-Mar2002
“Tiffany Jewels in Winter Park: The Morse Museum, Florida World, July-Sept. 2001
“The Florida Orchestra, Cultural Treasure on Florida’s Gold Coast,” Florida World, April–June 2001

"Sizzling Sands," Ludwig Schaffrath, Glass Art, Event Magazine, 6/1999 "Man's Best Friend," William Wegman, Event Magazine, January 1999 "Titanic Ausstellung: Erleben Sie das Drama des 20.Jdts hautnah mit," Florida Star, Nov 1997
"International Show of Kimonos -Glorious Wearable Art," Metro, Cover Story, August1996
"Tampa Museum of Art's Planet of the Arts," 
Metro, Cover Story, 6/1996 “Laurie Anderson, Multi-Media Tour de Force,” Hyde Park Metro, 4/1996
“Direct from Germany, Egyptian Splendors,” Hyde Park Metro, 2/1996 “Glass in Tampa Bay,”Sarasota Arts Review, December 1994
“Artistic Walkabouts (Aboriginal art),” 
Hyde Park, February 1994 "Susan Batian Gott," review, Art Papers, July/August 1994
"Gallery showcases crafts pioneer", The Tampa Tribune, October 5, 1993 "Homecoming Queen, Tampa Goes Soho: Josette Urso Comes to Town", Creative Loafing, Cover Story, February 28–March 2, 1993
"Vanishing Florida:The Mission of Gracia Bennish", 
Creative Loafing, Cover Story, November 11–17, 1992
“New York Artist Heide Fasnacht, a Visiting Artist as Inspiration...” Greenville Times, February 3–16,1988
Conwill brought art, talent, thought to ECU, ”The 
East Carolinian, October 1987
Black Mt.(College) Influence Lingers, The East Carolinian, Sept. 1, 1987 “N.C. Museum honors painter Sir David Wilkie,”The East Carolinian, August 5, 1987 

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

ECU Alumni Exhibition September 4-26,2015

Tampa based artist Susanne Nielsen , M.F.A. graduate 1989 of East Carolina University's School of Art, will be exhibiting her soft-sculpture “Babies like Bunnies” ( homage to Nadya Denise Doud-Suleman) " in this year's Alumni Exhibition. The art will be shown in three locations, ECU's Gray Art Gallery, ECU Joyner Library and Greenville Museum of Art.

                                                             

                                               “Babies like Bunnies” ( homage to Nadya Denise Doud-Suleman) 

Artist statement:  
My soft sculpture is one of many in the series of vessels all dedicated to the theme of birth and birth myths. While this topic has emerged from absolute taboo surrounded by many fantasy tales of the origins of new life ( wives’ tales)  more current works include the modern miracle of in vitro fertilization (IVF).
“Babies like Bunnies” ( homage to Nadya Denise Doud-Suleman) has been created with the story of Nadya Denise Doud-Suleman , mother of Octuplets via IVF,  in mind . The “vessel” sends us into the soft world of infants and toys, a place where all living creatures are cute and cuddely.  And it asks us to also contemplate the topic of engineered creation.
The circumstances of  high order multiple birth have led to controversy in the field of assisted reproductive technology as well as an investigation by the Medical Board of California of the fertility specialist involved.
The pink and white soft fabrics used with Duchampian “found objects” invite the viewer in and the questions raised  in the text and context of this piece , its title and the topic generates discussion easily taken for granted as IVF has become a normal aspect of our society in the 21st century.


Susanne Nielsen biography:
   
Susanne graduated in 1989 with an MFA degree in Painting from ECU, she is currently completing her doctoral thesis for the Univerity of Paderborn, Germany, a monograph of the the life and work of a Cuban exile artist.  Susanne has been teaching visual art, art history and humanities at universities and museums in the US, she currently resides in Tampa, Florida. In recent years she has traveled to Bangladesh and China and her art, mixed media in fabric and painting in two and three dimensions continues focus on the role of women in traditional societies, her latest series: Bangladeshi brides.

Monday, May 11, 2015

“Island of Babies in deep blue Sea” by Susanne Nielsen at DFAC

              ELEMENTAL:  Summer JURIED QUILT EXHIBITION AT DFAC    
                 An exhibtion addressing the four elements of nature—Water, Air, Earth, Fire,
                    Dunedin Fine Art Center, 1143 MICHIGAN BLVD, DUNEDIN, FL 34698
                                              

Island of Babies in deep blue Sea” (homage to Harper Lee/To Kill A Mockingbird) 
by Susanne Nielsen (Cotton fabric hand applique, hand and machine quilted, 34” x 34”              x 34”)

Artist statement:  The theme of my soft sculpture’s story is the element of Water. This life-giving element is our first home, we are born into it, and released into the world.  Inspiration for this birth myth is author Harper Lee’s story, protagonists Dill and Scout’s question about the origin of babies. A man in a boat goes to an Island to breathe life into sleeping babies (To Kill a Mockingbird). Parts of the text have been stitched into the pregnant form, the island was hand-painted and quilted into layers of waves.  Susannen2@verizon.net;   www.susannenielsenarts.blogspot.com                                                                     

Detail


Monday, March 30, 2015

Ruth Eckerd Hall Exhibition April,May 2015 "Coming to America" Series

                              
Susanne Nielsen shows her “Coming to America” series at Ruth Eckerd Hall April/May 2015 

Press:

                                                        

_________________________________________________
                                                               

April 2015
 Gasparilla Fine Arts show awards winning Tampa artist and art historian Susanne Nielsen will be exhibiting  five paintings from her “Coming to America” and “Childhood” series  April/May 2015  in Clearwater, Florida.
Nielsen and 11fellow artists are exhibiting their work in the upstairs galleries of Ruth Eckerd Hall, one of three major performing arts halls of Tampa Bay. Art and culture lovers who visit the numerous theater, Broadway and concert performances have free access to the galleries.
                                                                      


Susanne Nielsen’s "Coming to America" ​​and "Childhood" series are based on memories of her own childhood and the many impressions that she experienced as a city child of the fifties and sixties in her before and fter her emigration to the United States. In sunny California, making San Francisco thir home, Susanne chronicles this new world she discovered in words and pictures. 

                                                                        

The artist attended school and played with American girlfriends and her new little brother, sang American songs, read "Mother Goose" and "Waldi", experienced German and American Christmas with family and relatives. She heard German pop songs on records at home and saw "The Wizard of Oz" on TV, learned from English schoolbooks and leafed through her mother’s German magazines. The family kept up its two cultures their years in the US and Reykjvik, Iceland before returning home.
In her paintings Nielsen shows impressions from their early childhood in Germany and also excerpts from her German-American childhood abroad, collages of photographs, poems, lyrics, songs and advertising in times of growing postwar economic prosperity.

                                                                    

While researching the arts and cultural history for her courses at universities and art museums, Nielsen has been working for a long time with her own immigration history and continues to develop her own iconography of this German-American identity, which she shares with many women who also emigrated   and with a childhood that many of the children whose parents are immigrants, share.
In her paintings and three-dimensional works Nielsen often combines multilingual texts and textiles with painted acrylic paintings, mating patterns and typeface so typical of the promotional images just this new era after the war. The objects and pictures, with statements in various languages, texture and materials, always allow complex interpretation.
                                                                  
Susanne Nielsen exhibits along with bridget marshall,Carolann Mancuso , Debora Pridgeon , Gina Coccaro , Holly Bird , Joyce Curvin ,Lisa Fitch, Lorraine Potocki , Robert Herbenick , Leslie Jeffery, and Terd Smedley
Susanne Nielsen has shown parts of this series in one person exhibitions in Germany and the German Consulate Miami.
                                                                               
The artist is present and availble to answer questions on Sunday, April 19 and Sunday, May 3, respectively, during theintermission of the Florida Orchestra concerts or by special appointment. Call her at 813-254-5088 or visit www.susannenielsenarts.blogspot.com ,  for information and updates on  other exhibitions.

                                                                      

(German translation)

Deutsch-Amerikanische Kuenstlerin Susanne Nielsen stellt aus
                                              

                       “Childhood/Kindheit” Zyklus der Tampa Kuenstlerin Susanne Nielsen

Clearwater - Die Malerin/Bildhauerin und Kunstgeschichtsdozentin Susanne Nielsen, Gewinnerin vieler Kunstpreise (Best of Show , Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, Award , Gasparilla Show of Fine Arts,Tampa), die zwischen ihrer Heimatstadt Wiesbaden und Tampa, Florida pendelt, wo sie zur Zeit fuer Ihre Doktorarbeit an der Universitaet Paderborn die Monigrafie eines kubanischen Exil-Kuenstlers schreibt, stellt im April/Mai 2015 fuenf ihrer Bilder aus.
Zusammen mit einer kleinen Gruppe von Künstlerinnen zeigt Nielsen fünf ihrer Bilder aus dem Zyklus „Coming to America/Childhood in Germany” in Clearwater, Florida, aus.  Ihre Werke sind in den oberen beiden Galerien der Ruth Eckerd Hall, einer von drei grossen Theater-Hallen der Tampa Bucht von April bis einschließlich Mai 2015 ausgestellt. Kunst- und Kulturliebhaber, die die zahlreichen Theater-, Broadway- und Konzertaufführungen besuchen, haben freien Zugang zu den Galerien.
                                                                       
Susanne Nielsens Malerei-Zyklen „Coming to America“ und “Childhood” basieren auf Erinnerungen ihrer eigenen Kindheit und den vielen Eindruecken, die sie in ihrer deutschen Heimat als Stadtkind der fünfziger und sechziger Jahre erlebte, und bei ihrer Auswanderung in die USA im sonnigen Kalifornien wiederum in der Grosstadt San Francisco in Wort und Bild erlebte. Die im Ausland groß gewordene Künstlerin besuchte Schule und Stadt, spielte mit amerikanischen Freundinnen und dem kleinen Bruder, sang amerikanische Lieder, las “Mother Goose” und “Waldi” , erlebte deutsche und amerikanische Weihnacht mit Familie und Verwandten. Sie hoerte deutsche schlager und sah “The Wizzard of Oz” im Fernsehen, lernte aus englischen Schulbuechern und blaetterte in  Mutters deutschen Zeitschriften, die die Familie während ihrer Jahre in den USA und Reykjvik, Island regelmäßig las.
In ihren Bildern zeigt Nielsen Eindruecke aus ihrer wiesbadener fruehen Kinderzeit und ebenfalls   Ausschnitte aus ihrer Deutsch-amerikanischen Kindheit, Collagen aus Fotos, Gedichten, Texten, Liedern und Werbung  dieser Ziet des Aufschwunges.    
                                                                 
Bei ihren Recherchen zur Kunst- und Kulturgeschichte, die Susanne Nielsen an Universitaeten und Museen lehrt, befasst sie sich seit langem mit der eigenen Immigrations-Geschichte und entwickelt weiterhin eine eigene Ikonografie der deutsch- amerikanischen Identitaet, die sie mit vielen ebenfalls ausgewanderten deutschen Frauen teilt, und mit einer kindheit, die viele der Kinder , deren Eltern immigranten sind, teilen. In ihren Bildern und drei-dimensionalen Werken kombiniert Nielsen oft mehrsprachige Worte und Textiles mit gemalten Acrylbildern , die Paarung von Mustern und Schriftbild so typisch für die Werbebilder gerade dieser neuen Zeit nach dem Krieg. Die Objekte und Bilder, mit Aussagen in verschiedenen Sprachen, Textur und Materialien, lassen stets vielschichtige Interpretation zu .
                                                                           
 Susanne Nielsen , die bereits einige dieser Werke in einer Einzelschau in Wiesbadens Galerie Wort-Art und im Generalkonsulat Miami zeigte, stellt zusammen mit bridget marshall,Carolann Mancuso , Debora Pridgeon , Gina Coccaro , Holly Bird , Joyce Curvin ,Lisa Fitch, Lorraine Potocki , Robert Herbenick , Leslie Jeffery und Terd Smedley aus.  
                                                                     
Die Ausstellung der Werke  kann von Besuchern der Ruth Eckerd Hall von April bis Ende Mai 2015 in den Galerien des ersten Stocks besichtigt werden. Die Kuenstlerin steht am Sonntag, den 19.April und am Sonntag, 3.Mai jeweils waehrend der Pause des Florida Orchesterkonzerts fuer Fragen zur Verfuegung. Rufen Sie sie an und machen einen Termin unter 813-254-5088 oder besuchen Sie www.susannenielsenarts.blogspot.com ,  Informationen und weitere Austellungs-Termine finden Sie auf dieser Seite.