Susan’s journey as an artist is defined by a lifelong dedication to advocacy and the pursuit of resolution for others. Parallel to her creative practice, she has spent her career as a lawyer and advocate for the rights of child and adult victims. This profound commitment to helping victims find a measure of peace has deeply informed her evolution as an abstract expressionist, as she translates the human need for liberation onto the canvas.
Her formal arts education began early at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. and continued through studies at U.C.L.A. and a joint program with the Rhode Island School of Design and the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. To further refine her voice in abstraction, Susan has studied under noted painters such as Krista Harris, Jane Burton, Toni Lyons Phillips, Emily Ball, and Jason Hackenwerth. Her work has since been featured in numerous juried exhibitions.
Susan’s art and her mission remain inextricably linked. Alongside her husband, Peter—a long-time prosecutor and advocate for child abuse victims—she remains a steadfast supporter of Child Advocacy Centers (CACs). These centers are essential to meet the needs of child victims and their families, including social services and law enforcement response, medical and mental health services, focused in one child-friendly place. If you would like to know more about Child Advocacy Centers in your State, or to get involved or support their efforts visit: nationalchildrensalliance.org/get-involved/ways-to-support-kids/
Susan lives and paints in a seaside community in New Jersey. Through both her paintings and philanthropy, Susan continues to create space for healing and hope.
Statement
I paint raw, large-scale abstract expressionist paintings on unstretched canvas that are about the fundamental need for freedom—the drive to break through barriers, whether internal or external, to find a voice, and to stake a claim to freedom and a measure of peace.
My process begins quietly in the studio with soft acrylic washes and often fragments of poetry that suggest memory and reflect vulnerability. The paintings then push against the confines of the studio, needing air and breathing room, and additional layers are painted outside, frequently with the raw energy and loud voice of spray paint and graffiti. This series, Out Loud, deliberately rejects the confines of stretched canvas, needing air and space for unrestrained expression.
Symbols of freedom emerged, the timeless silhouette of Winged Victory in the painting titled "Freedom" while "Sun, Stone" integrates ground black tourmaline and lepidolite crystals directly into the paint. Sourced with the help of my family, these minerals ground the artwork in the earth, and offer the viewer fortification and calm.
Ultimately, these paintings aim to speak both softly of history and loudly of truth. They serve as a shared connection point for anyone seeking personal liberation or working toward collective peace.
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