About Susanne Carmack

Discovery

Born in New Jersey, Carmack spent most of her life in the metropolitan DC area. In the second class of women at the University of Virginia, Carmack majored in art history, minored in studio art and later pursued a Masters of Fine Art from the University of Maryland in Painting. Twice recognized with a fellowship from the Maryland Arts Council, Carmack has also been featured in New American Paintings twice. She has received a fellowship from the Virginia Center for Creative Arts eleven times and she is a two-time fellow at Ragdale in Lake Forest, Illinois. She has over 25 solo shows to her credit in the US, and has exhibited her work in over fifteen states. After a devastating house and studio fire in 2016 she ultimately settled in Woodstock Georgia where she maintains a home studio and works nearly every day.

I go back and forth between media, letting each material influence my imagery. I love paper, and I work with it, painting, printmaking, and making collage. However, the large abstract work requires panels or canvas. The imagery comes from an "inner landscape", as I work intuitively. While I am creating, each mark influences the next, creating layers of gestural mark-making and textural fields. Drawing comes into play as I punctuate the fields with linear work. Texture, line, and shape are the hallmarks of my painting. Words, poetry, and song lyrics are influential in my work, often suggesting subject matter. As a nod to the words, I sometimes include asemic writing in my work. Lately, I have created a haiku poem for every work that I complete. Poetic imagery requires poetic language, and this discipline often deepens the subject matter, and frequently gives me title ideas that may lead the viewer into the abstraction.

Having survived many things, art continues to save me. Every day is an art day. It defines me and makes life's journeys worthwhile. This big, beautiful world continues to affect me every minute of every day.

Susanne Carmack

GA

Statement