Susan Pasquarelli

ARTIST’S STATEMENT

Making art provides a means to spiritual regeneration. It encourages me to work and live in tune with the energies of life, whether inspiration is external or internal. With each medium I select a process involving gradual change. This allows for chance to be fundamental to the finished visual image, such as the layering of watercolor washes into light and shapes, the individual pictographs within the overall grid format, or the gradations of color interacting with figurative elements in the gouache paintings. It is important to remain open and accepting as each painting evolves. This provides an opportunity to learn something about myself, my work, and perhaps nature in general. Sometimes the imagery is very complex and dissonant, and sometimes a painting resonates with clarity and simplicity. The idea is not to settle on evoking one state or another, but to say yes to the fluctuating energies that exist within and around us.

I think of myself as a working artist and integrate my daily life with the discipline of painting and drawing. Regular work habits help to keep me open to receive and explore ideas. I believe that making art can be a way to manifest aspects of nature that are often beyond the merely perceptual or decorative. My paintings are not literal compositions of landscapes with trees and sky, although throughout there are schematic signs that point to these themes. I like to think of my work as reflecting nature, a part of the process of nature in its various forms. As the art historian Anada Coomaraswamy writes: “Like nature, not in appearance, but in its manner of operation.” As a painting develops, the careful process I follow allows for a welcome detachment that also gives me a sense of freedom to observe the piece as it slowly takes shape. My intention is to make a personal vision that communicates universally. I hope to produce visual images that resonate and have presence.

John Thornton, “Susan Pasquarelli: A Grateful Artist,” Video, April 3, 2011

John Thornton, “Susan Pasquarelli: Day and Night,” Video, November 3, 2013

From the Harwood Museum lecture, 2005:
When I moved to Taos and realized that I am now living in the landscape that I have delegated to the level of myth, I felt overwhelmed. I kept saying to myself, “What am I going to do with this?” Thinking about the power of the natural world reminds me of the responsibility we have as artists to engage with the profundities of life around us—not the next trend or particular style or taste—but these awesome realities of life now. I believe that Ad Reinhart’s admonition that “art is too serious to be taken seriously” is true, but I also think that there needs to be more rigor and deep questioning today on the part of both artist and viewer. We need to look beyond easy value judgments to find the authentic artistic voices that are around us, even if they are jarring and uncomfortable. As an artist, I believe it is necessary to find one’s own artistic vision—not with arrogance, but with humility—and to take responsibility for it. There is still much work to be done.

BIOGRAPHY

Born and raised in Southern California, Susan received her BA in Art History from the University of California, Berkeley. In the 1970s she moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she commuted to graduate school at Brooklyn College in New York. It was there that she studied drawing and painting with Lee Bontecou, Phillip Pearlstein, Lois Dodd, and Alan D’Arcangelo among others. After receiving her MFA in 1982, she began showing her work regularly as well as teaching drawing and painting for twenty years at various colleges in the Philadelphia region, including fourteen years at Philadelphia University.

Shortly after moving to Taos, New Mexico, from Philadelphia in 2004, Susan was awarded a three-month residency at the Harwood Museum of Art (January-April 2005). Her work has been shown in museums and galleries throughout the U.S.—including twenty solo exhibitions in New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Washington DC—and her work is held in numerous public and private collections. She has also received several fellowships and awards, including three first place prizes in competitions in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland, and a Visual Arts Fellowship from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.

RESUME

Education
B.A. in Art History
University of California, Berkeley
California College of Arts and Crafts
M.F.A. in Painting and Drawing
Brooklyn College, City University of New York

Solo Exhibitions
Winterowd Fine Art, Santa Fe (2016)
Rosenfeld Gallery, Philadelphia (2013, 2011, 2008, 2006, 2004, 2002, 2000, 1997, 1995)
McKinney Gallery, West Chester University, Pennsylvania (2006)
Zane Bennett Contemporary Art, Santa Fe (2005)
National Academy of Sciences, Washington DC (2003-4)
Geis Realty Group, United Plaza, Philadelphia (2003)
Rose Lehrman Gallery, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (1994)
Jessica Berwind Gallery, Philadelphia (1994, 1992, 1990, 1987)
Paley Design Center, Philadelphia (1993)
George School, Newtown, Pennsylvania (1980)

Selected Group Shows
“Taos Select,” Guadalupe Complex, Taos (2015)
“Taos Now,” Stables Gallery, Taos Center for the Arts (2015)
Three-person show, “Taos Spirit,” Winterowd Fine Art, Santa Fe (2015)
“Taos Select,” Stables Gallery, Taos Center for the Arts (2014)
Encore Gallery, Taos Center for the Arts, Taos, New Mexico (2014, 2013, 2012)
Rosenfeld Gallery, Philadelphia (2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2006, 2005, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1997, 1996, 1994)
“Taos Contemporary,” Center for Visual Art, Denver, Colorado (2012)
Three-person show, Borowsky Gallery, The Gershman Y, Philadelphia (2011)
Spring show, Harwood Museum of Art, Taos, New Mexico (2011)
The New Mexico Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Muños Waxman Gallery,
Center for Contemporary Arts, Santa Fe (2011)
The Community Art Center, Wallingford, Pennsylvania (2008, 2001)
Barnstone Gallery, Phoenixville, Pennsylvania (2008)
Zane Bennett Contemporary Art, Santa Fe (2007, 2005)
Millicent Rogers Museum, Taos, New Mexico (2005)
Paley Design Center, Philadelphia (2002, 1999, 1997, 1995,1993, 1991)
Cheltenham Center for the Arts (1999)
20th Annual Art on Paper Exhibition, Maryland Federation of Art
Gallery on the Circle, Annapolis, Maryland (1997)
William Penn Charter Juried Show, Philadelphia (1996)
“Winter Solstice Show,” Sound Shore Gallery, Stamford, Connecticut (1995)
“Hard Choices II,” Traveling Exhibition of Pennsylvania Artists sponsored by The Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art (1994):
Johnstown Art Museum;
Blair Art Museum, Hollidaysburg;
Wood Street Galleries, Pittsburgh;
Nexus Gallery, Philadelphia;
Sordoni Art Gallery, Wilkes Barre;
Pennsylvania State Museum
Rutgers National ‘94 Works on Paper, Stedman Art Gallery, Rutgers University, Camden, New Jersey (1994)
Rutgers National ‘92 Works on Paper, Stedman Art Gallery (1992)
Jessica Berwind Gallery, Philadelphia (1991, 1990, 1989, 1988, 1986)
Community College of Philadelphia (1991)
“Four Philadelphia Painters,” Philadelphia Art Alliance (1991)
Abington Art Center, Jenkintown, Pennsylvania (1989)
“Dream Images,” Philadelphia City Hall (1988)
Philadelphia Drawing Competition, Philadelphia Art Alliance (1988)
Hicks Art Gallery, Newtown, Pennsylvania (1987)
Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, State College, Pennsylvania (1987)
Muse Gallery, Philadelphia (1987)
“Seven Philadelphia Artists Draw,” Hicks Art Gallery, Newtown, Pennsylvania (1986)
Cheltenham Annual Painting Exhibition, Cheltenham, Pennsylvania (1985)
Philadelphia Drawing Competition, Philadelphia Art Alliance (1985)
Noel Butcher Gallery, Philadelphia (1984)
Eastern Pennsylvania Regional Drawing Exhibition, Richard Eugene Fuller Gallery, Glenside, Pennsylvania (1983)

Fellowships and Awards
Artist-in Residence (January-April, 2005)
Harwood Museum of Art, Taos, New Mexico
Juror’s Choice, 20th Annual Art on Paper (1997)
Maryland Federation of Art
Visual Arts Fellowship (1992)
Pennsylvania Council on the Arts
First Prize, “The Philadelphia Group” (1991)
Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts,
Loveladies, New Jersey
Honorable Mention, Annual Juried Exhibition (1989)
Baum School of Art, Allentown, Pennsylvania
First Prize, Philadelphia Drawing Competition (1988)
Philadelphia Art Alliance
Graduate Fellowship (1982)
Brooklyn College, City University of New York

Bibliography
Taos Now: Art of the 21st Century, Taos Center for the Arts catalog (2015)
John Thornton, “Susan Pasquarelli: Day and Night,” Video, November 3, 2013
Victoria Donohoe, Review, Philadelphia Inquirer, July 1, 2011
John Thornton, “Susan Pasquarelli: A Grateful Artist,” Video, April 3, 2011
Jan Adlmann, Review, THE Santa Fe’s Monthly magazine of the Arts, November 2005
Deonne Kahler, “Exploring Opposites,” Tempo Arts and Entertainment
Magazine, Taos News, February 17-23, 2005
Anne R. Fabbri, “Spring Showcases,” Philadelphia Style, March/April, 2004
Susan Pasquarelli: Seeing Beyond, Solo Exhibition Catalog,
National Academy of Sciences, Washington DC, 2003
Gallery Guide, Cover and p.7, March 2002
Anne R. Fabbri, “Art is busting out all over,” Philadelphia Daily News, March 1, 2002
Deborah Kravetz, “Old City Preview,” Art Matters, March, 2002
Edward Sozanski, Review, Philadelphia Inquirer, March 31, 2000
Anne R. Fabbri, “She martials more than art,” Philadelphia Daily News, April 7, 2000
Deborah Kravetz, “Old City Preview,” Art Matters, October, 1997
Gallery Guide, Cover and p. 7, October, 1995
Edward Sozanski, Review, Philadelphia Inquirer, October 13, 1995
Edward Sozanski, Review, Philadelphia Inquirer, June 14, 1990
Victoria Donohoe, Review, Philadelphia Inquirer, May 20, 1989
Victoria Donohoe, Review, Philadelphia Inquirer, January 23, 1988
Judith Heep, Review, Art Matters, March, 1986
Painted Bride Quarterly, Cover and pp. 20, 24, Spring, 1985

Public and Corporate Collections (partial listing)
Harwood Museum of Art, Taos, New Mexico
National Academy of Sciences, Washington DC
State Museum of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg
Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
Brooklyn College, City University of New York
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
Memorial Sloan-Kettering, New York
Nomura Securities, Tokyo and New York
Bank of Tokyo, New York
Federal Reserve Bank, Philadelphia
Visa, Inc., San Francisco
Pepsi Co., Inc., New York
SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals, Philadelphia
Morgan Stanley & Co., Philadelphia
Rite Aid Corporation, Philadelphia
C.B. Commercial Real Estate Group, Inc., Ontario, California
Blank, Rome, Comisky, and McCauley, Attorneys, Philadelphia
Saul, Ewing, Remick, and Saul, Attorneys, Philadelphia
Grant Thornton, Certified Public Accountants, Philadelphia
Morgan, Lewis, and Bockius, LLP, Philadelphia
Legatt McCall Properties, Boston

Teaching Experience
Philadelphia University (1990-2004)
Chestnut Hill College, Philadelphia (1988-1992)
Community College of Philadelphia (1989)
Bucks County Community College (1984-1988)
Brooklyn College, City University of New York (1982)