SUSAN BENNERSTROM

                   Born in 1949 in Seattle, WA

                           Resides in Bellingham, WA

 

EDUCATION     Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA, 1968-1971

 

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

 

            2002     Terrence Rogers Fine Art, Santa Monica, CA

                        Whatcom Museum of History and Art, Bellingham, WA

                        Davidson Galleries, Seattle, WA

            2001     Davidson Galleries, Seattle, WA

            2000     Jenkins Johnson Gallery, San Francisco, CA

                        Davidson Galleries, Seattle, WA

            1999     Davidson Galleries, Seattle, WA

                        Margo Jacobsen Gallery, Portland, OR

                        J. Cacciola Gallery, New York, NY

            1998     Davidson Galleries, Seattle, WA

            1997     Davidson Galleries, Seattle, WA

            1996     Davidson Galleries, Seattle, WA

                        J. Cacciola Galleries,New York, NY

            1995     Davidson Galleries, Seattle, WA

                        Fletcher Gallery, Santa Fe, NM

            1994     Whatcom Museum of History and Art, Bellingham, WA

                        Davidson Galleries, Seattle, WA

            1993     Davidson Galleries, Seattle, WA

                        Fletcher Gallery, Santa Fe, NM

            1992     Davidson Galleries, Seattle, WA

                        Fletcher Gallery, Santa Fe, NM

            1991     Davidson Galleries, Seattle, WA

                        Fletcher Gallery, Santa Fe, NW

            1990     Port Angeles Fine Art Center, Port Angeles, WA

                        Fletcher Gallery, Santa Fe, NW

            1989     Davidson Galleries, Seattle, WA

                        Alonso/Sullivan Gallery, Seattle, WA

            1988     Skagit Valley College, Mount Vernon, WA

                        Carnegie Art Center, Walla Walla, WA

            1987     Alonso/Sullivan Gallery, Seattle, WA

            1986     Alonso/Sullivan Gallery, Seattle, WA

 

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

 

            1999     Annual Realism Invitational, Jenkins Johnson Gallery, San Francisco, CA

                        From Here to the Horizon: Curator's View, Whatcom County Museum, Bellingham, WA

            1998     Betty Bowen Award 20th Anniversary Exhibition, Washington State Convention Center, Seattle, WA

            1997     True Art, Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma, WA

            1996     Shaped by the Land, four person show, Museum of Northwest Art, LaConner, WA

            1995     Art for the People, Henry Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle, WA

            1992     The Betty Bowen Legacy, Security Pacific Gallery, Seattle, WA

            1989     Pacific Northwest, juried exhibition, Bellevue Art Museum, Bellevue, WA

            1988     Art in Nature, Pacific Art Center, Seattle, WA

                        Pastels: Landscapes from the Chalk Circle, Lisa Harris Gallery, Seattle, WA

            1987     Northwest Landscapes, three person show, Whatcom Museum of History and Art, Bellingham, WA

                        Pacific Northwest, juried exhibition, Bellevue Art Museum, Bellevue, WA

            1985     Pacific Northwest, juried exhibition, Bellevue Art Museum, Bellevue, WA

            1984     Northwest International, juried exhibition, Whatcom Museum of History and Art, Bellingham, WA

            1983     Pastel Drawings, two person show, Whatcom Museum of History and Art, Bellingham, WA

Northwest International, juried exhibition, Whatcom Museum of History and Art, Bellingham, WA

            1982     Northwest International, juried exhibition, Whatcom Museum of History and Art, Bellingham, WA

            1981     Northwest International, juried exhibition, Whatcom Museum of History and Art, Bellingham, WA

 

AWARDS                 Artist Trust GAP Grant, Seattle, WA  -  1998

                                Annual Commemorative Poster, Corporate Council for the Arts, Seattle, WA  -  1997

                                Mayor's Art Award, Bellingham, WA  -  1995

                                METRO Arts Program, Art/Poetry Bus Project  -  1994

                                Artist Trust GAP Grant  -  1992

                                Third Annual Northwest Poets and Artists Calendar  -  1988

                                Art in Public Places Program, Washington Arts Commission  -  1998

                                Artist Trust Fellowship, Semi-Finalist  -  1987

                                Pacific Northwest Arts & Crafts Fair, Juried Exhibition, First Place Award, Drawing  -  1987

                                Seattle Art Museum,  Betty Bowen Special Recognition Award  - 1987

                                Washington State Arts Commission, Art in Public Places Program  -  1986

                                Northwest International Art Competition, Second Place Award  -  1984

 

TEACHING             Coupeville Arts Center, Coupeville, WA, 2000

                                Pratt Fine Arts Center, Seattle, 1991 to present

                                School of Visual Concepts, Seattle, 1998

                                Ballyhugh Art & Culture Centre, County Cavan, Ireland, 1997

                                Knockadoon Centre, County Cork, Ireland, 1997

 

COLLECTIONS      Whatcom Museum of History and Art, Bellingham, WA

                                The Microsoft Collection, Redmond, WA

                                Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA

                                Skagit Valley College, Mount Vernon, WA

                                University of Washington Medical Center,  Seattle, WA

                                Wilson Library, Bellingham, WA

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Susan Bennerstrom, with essays by Robin Updike, Rod Slemmons and Sarah Clark-Langager,

            University of Washington Press, Seattle, WA, 84 pages, 67 illustrations, 2000

Wesley Pulkka, "Contemporary Realism: A New Twist on Tradition, "Southwest Art, March 2000

"Artists to Watch: Susan Bennerstrom" Southwest Art, July 1999
Catalogue for Realism Invitational, Jenkins-Johnson Gallery, San Francisco, essay by Peter Frank, June 1999
Margaret Bikman, "Art's Going to the Country: Exhibit Focuses on rural Landscapes"

            Bellingham Herald, April 23, 1999
Robin Updike, "Shows Worth a Close Look," (review) Seattle Times, April 8, 1999
Robin Updike, "Landscapes by Lottery -- It keeps the Growing Crowd of Buyers in Line for Bellingham

             Artist's Work," Seattle Times, May 27, 1998
"Exhibition of Pastels by American Artist Susan Bennerstrom,"The Anglo-Celt, Cavan, Ireland, October 9, 1997

Whatcom Places, Introduction by Ivan Doig, Whatcom Land Trust, pub., 1997
Deloris Tarzan Ament, (review) Seattle Sidewalk, April 18, 1997
Ted Lundberg, "Susan Bennestrom: Pastels, Preview Magazine, April/ May 1996

"Creativity in Bloom" (review) Seattle Times, April 12, 1996
Sheila Farr, "Retinal Pleasures," Seattle Weekly, (review)  April 17, 1996

Barbara Straker James, "Shaped by the Land," Museum of NorthwestArt News, Summer 1996
Carmi Weingrod, "Art by Census: Should People Get Exactly What They Ask For?" American Artist October 1995

Gussie Fauntleroy, "Traveling to the Edge of Expectation, "The Santa Fe New Mexican, Aug. 25, 1995

Bruce Barcott, "Art Your Way," Seattle Weekly, April 6,1995

Sheila Farr, "America's Most Wanted," Bellingham Herald, April 22, 1995

The Bellingham Review,  (image),  vol. 17, nos. 1 & 2,  1994
Willow Springs, (images),  no. 34,   Summer  1994
Nature Through Her Eyes: Art and Literature by Women, by Mary Bemis and Belinda Recio,

             publication The Nature Company, 1994
Sheila Farr, "Light on the Landscape," (review), Bellingham Herald,  July 23, 1994
"Susan Bennerstrom, Artist of the Ominous," The World and I Magazine, vol.9, no.1,  January 1994
Deloris Tarzan Ament, review, Seattle Times, April 26, 1993
Candelora Versace, "Brooding Hills, Sunny Shores: A study in Contradiction," The Santa Fe New Mexican,

            August 7,1992
Jessica Maxwell, "Palouse Pentimnento," Pacific Northwest Magazine,April 1992
Russ Whiting, "Bennerstrom Moves at Her Own Pace," Santa Fe New Mexican, August 9,1991
Karen Matheison, review,  Seattle Times, March 7, 1991
John Marshall,"Visions of Success," Seattle P-I, June 3,1991
Ann Douglas, After, (book cover), published Breitenbush Books, Portland, 1989
Artweek, (review), January 14 ,1989
John Harris, "Artist Tries Change of Pace ," Bellingham Herald, January 10, 1989

 


DIRECTOR'S NOTES

With her luminous depictions of architectural details and interior spaces, Susan Bennerstrom presents concise visual paradoxes. In rooms of almost Shaker-like simplicity she portrays light and reflections as they bounce off gleaming surfaces. Shimmering, glowing colors radiate a deep, raw sensuality, often at odds with their spare settings.

While contemplating these images the notion of a "visual koan" came to mind. A koan - a paradox or riddle utilized in Zen meditation - provides a special opportunity for insight and enlightenment. "Can one see the presence inhabited by emptiness?" "What is the power of a gentle breeze?" These enigmatic questions are posed by the juxtapositions in her work, but their answers remain elusive at best.

To inventory the components of a Bennerstrom composition - the glossy polish of a tile floor, the backlit geometry of a window frame or the serpentine twist of a stairway - is akin to knowing the ingredients in a soufflé. Moreover, as pleasing as each element is, simply identifying it cannot explain the marvelous sensation of experiencing it. Therein, of course, lies the alchemy of art, and food: to read a recipe is not to eat a meal.

The pervading leitmotif to Bennerstrom is light. As she said recently on the subject:

"This transformative power of light is what my work is about. Objects, buildings, aspects of landscape are altered and made strange in certain lights. What we normally perceive as ordinary and familiar can become brooding and unnerving, or else transcendently sublime. Light is one of the main characters in our daily drama; we need it like we need food. However, we can't taste, touch or hear it, so we tend not to pay much attention to it until it's gone. I am beguiled by light and its absence, shadow, and no matter what my apparent subject matter is, light and shade will probably always be the thread running through every painting I make."

After working exclusively in chalk pastel for over 20 years, Bennerstrom began experimenting with oil pastel on gessoed panels. Concerned about stability and conservation, she did thorough research and consulted the manufacturers of the materials. In so doing she pioneered a technique that yields paintings that, unlike chalk pastel, do not need to be under glass. Deeply hued and richly colored, varnished like oil painting, the final surface of a Bennerstrom panel is smooth and brilliant. This innovation allows the depth and subtleties of color, and the immediacy of each piece to be fully experienced and enjoyed by the viewer.

It is my great pleasure to be able to present this exhibition, the first in southern California, for Susan Bennerstrom.
Terrence Rogers
Santa Monica
September, 2002







©Copyright 2000 - 2004, Terrence Rogers Fine Art