Susanna Heller
Susanna Heller in her studio.
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Susanna Heller is an American citizen who grew up in Montreal as a landed immigrant and since 1980 has lived in Brooklyn, NY, USA. Heller received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1977. The "metropolis" has been the primary source of inspiration for Susanna, often navigating her surroundings from a variety of perspectives, including bridges and skyscrapers. Heller had a studio on the 91st floor of the World Trade Center from 1998 to 1999 as part of a 15-month long artists’ residency called "World Views", organized by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. Following the tragedy of 9/11, she returned to that site, which led to a new series of paintings addressing the themes of absence, fragility, and destruction. After 9/11 she also made scores of drawings on site plus two drawings that are 26 feet high and 11 feet wide. One was made on site inside the WTC, the second made after the towers fell, in her studio in Brooklyn. Both of these collage works on paper are in the collection of the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto. Susanna has exhibited her work in many international galleries and museums. A prolific painter working in various scales, her exhibitions often include smaller works on paper that are assembled to impactful affect within the architecture of the gallery space. She is the recipient of numerous awards both in Canada and the USA, including The National Endowment for the Arts, The Canada Council for the Arts, the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship and the Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters & Sculptors Award. Susanna has travelled extensively and has been awarded residencies in Paris, France, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland. Her work is represented in both public and private collections including, The Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto; Air Canada Corporation; the Canada Council Art Bank, Ottawa; Concordia University Art Gallery, Montreal; Museum London; Oakville Galleries and The Donavan Collection, St. Michael's College, Toronto, Ontario.
Following meeting artists Ron Benner, Jamelie Hassan and her son Tariq Hassan Gordon and Wyn Geleynse and his daughter Mara in Paris in 1984, a long-standing friendship evolved among the artists of the Embassy Cultural House. Susanna was invited to present a solo exhibition Recent Works at the ECH in 1986, and is included in the ECH's inaugural virtual exhibition Hiding in Plain Sight. Susanna is represented by Olga Korpor Gallery in Toronto and her paintings will be included in Art Toronto, Canada's art fair from October 28 to November 8, 2020 through the participation of this gallery. For more information on Susanna Heller please visit her website. |
Recent Work by Susanna
Eyes in a Bleak World, 2020,
28" x 22" oil paint, mixed media on canvas. Exhibited at the Embassy Cultural House virtual exhibit Hiding in Plain Sight.
The Crane is a Metal Flower 2, 2020, 36"x62" oil paint, mixed media on canvas
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Gardens of Brooklyn, 2020, 24"x20" oil paint, mixed media on canvas
Aerial Angst, 2020, 60"x92" oil paint, mixed media on canvas
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Susanna Heller Restless Prowling From Night to Day Break, 2015, 11'x30' Oil on canvas. Installed at the TD Centre-Mies van der Rohe building, in Toronto.
