By IASP.
It's like releasing a stream of emotion. Untold. To find an art style that strikes a chord in your heart. Sumi-e (traditional Japanese ink painting) is my first serious attempt to break into art as an adult, perhaps what led to this blog. Yet, creativity is boundless, wide open. To some degree, Susan Davies' work reminds that.
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I stared at Susan's work for several minutes (I wish hours). Initially moved by curiosity, but then, let to excitement. Her work finds a path to combine western and eastern traditions. The use of the canvas and its textures opened a new dimension to Japanese traditional paintings without disrupting the very principles behind those as Susan works keep the rustic simplicity, elegance, and always drawing attention to the beauty of the imperfection. One of the core ideas is that nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect. The textures of the painting do not disrupt these principles because the strokes are also rough and primal. There is space for imagination as nothing is completely finished.
Susan was essentially playing with materials and art styles. The main stroke encircling the planting matched the texture and colors of the abstract forms over the canvas. Untold. I had to have a word with her about her work. Sadly, it was late and couldn't talk with her. I wish I could have asked her why she chose that pallet of autumn colors as those (for me) represent one of the core values of eastern tradition, to withstand all adversities. The use of a main stroke encircling the painting seems to be a common pattern in her work. It's intriguing.
I like to think about her work under the perspective of embodiment because it means to represent an idea, principle, abstraction, etc. Embodiment is beyond merely copying something. Deep beyond that. To incarnate something and bringing to new, untold possibilities. When Susan plays with styles but with due respect to their essence, she is incarnating those to new possibilities instead of just making a slaughterhouse of traditions.
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| Picture retrieved from Susan Davie's website |
You can spot the basic principles of sumi-e. To capture the essence of nature with simple strokes and making use of the fullness and emptiness of dark and white. There is also a strong principle behind called wabi-sabi, which means accepting the beauty that is imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete in nature. Of course, something is also lost: the full whiteness and deepness of the white page. Yet, to discover textures in the original framework of eastern traditional painting was fun and enjoyable. An exciting proposal.
If you like Susan Davies' work, you can find it at the Northup King Building, 1500 Jackson Street NE, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her website is http://www.susandavies.site/about
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