| Intro | American artist |
| A.K.A. | Susan Picking Harper |
| Is | Painter |
| From | United States of America |
| Type | Arts |
| Gender | female |
| Birth | 21 March 1955, Pasadena, USA |
| Age: | 65 years |
| Star sign | Aries |
Susan Picking Harper (born Susan Gail Picking; March 21, 1955) is an American artist based in Los Angeles, California whose work consists of abstract paintings that are part of the Ecocentric Art Movement. She is a teaching artist at American Jewish University in Los Angeles.
Life
Harper was born in Pasadena, California, but grew up in Rancho Santa Fe, California, San Diego County. Her grandfather, Archibald Picking was a highly skilled diamond-cutter called a Diamantaire who was responsible for cutting, polishing and transforming a rough diamond into a finished gemstone ready for setting. This had an influential effect upon Susan’s artwork.
Harper studied art under the mentorship of Lyrical Abstractionist Paul Jenkins (painter) at the American University of Paris, France. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Roski School of Fine Art at University of Southern California in 1977. She is also an alumnus of ArtCenter College of Design, Class of ’79. She lived in New York producing work for 12 years before moving to Los Angeles to teach and exhibit her artworks. As an Art Professor at the American Jewish University, she specializes in abstract painting and Ecocentric Art. She is currently a member of the Los Angeles Art Association and the board of directors for the Westwood Branch Public Library.
Works
Harper’s concentration is an expansive study of gemstones and their physical properties: shape, facets, brilliance, luster, refraction, and color. By method of bricolage and assemblage, she explores reclaimed materials and found objects to construct a Combine Painting out of “discarded tablecloth, wallpaper, curtain, graphic posters, upholstery fabric, painting, canvas, commercial art, building and metal scrap”. This cyclical use of diverse mixed media in her body of work connects her to the Ecocentric Art Movement. She paints the light as it passes through gemstones employing classical still life techniques, yet their characteristics give way to an abstract style of painting.
Each painting specifies the stone type, its original name, and the type of cut carved on the stone. The titles of her artworks encapsulates the wide range in gem-cutting techniques.
The collection of paintings, Gods of Fire, are exhibited in contemporary art galleries throughout the West Coast including Torrance Art Museum, Bergamot Station, Gallery 825, and South Bay Contemporary Gallery. Her work is currently in the contemporary art collection of Mandy and Cliff Einstein.
Notable exhibitions
- ‘Wadjet’ Brilliant-Cut Diamond; Acrylic on canvas salvage, 30 x 24 inches was exhibited at the Neutra Institute Museum Gallery for the Dulce Stein presents 100 Artists Exhibition on October 4, 2018.
- ‘Ra’ Ruby on Landscape; Oil and acrylic on canvas 16 x 16 inches was shown at the Torrance Art Museum.
- ‘Amaterasu’ Cushion-cut Diamond; Acrylic on bandana, 59 x 59 inches was exhibited at Imagine: A Visual Arts Exhibit, Platt and Borstein Gallery, AJU, Bel-Air, California.
- Art Expo Yerevan, Museum of Modern Art, Yerevan, Armenia, curated by Narine Isajanyan
- Silence Breakers, Ely Center of Contemporary Art, New Haven, Connecticut
- L.A. Fashion Week/Art Hearts Fashion, Six Summit Gallery, Ivoryton, Connecticut
Publications
- 101 Contemporary Artists, Artvoices Art Books, edited by Terrence Sanders
- Los Angeles Art Association Book Volume 2
External Links
- S.P. Harper (Official website)
- Los Angeles Art Association
- Mandy and Cliff Einstein at Home: Inside the Museum-Worthy Art Collection of the L.A. Power Couple