99
North Main
Rochester, VT 05767
(802) 767-9670
Sculpture by Susan Clinard
Links to more examples of Susan's work:
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Artist Statement:
My sculptures are about spirituality, destruction, hatred and love. They explore life's continual cycle of tearing down and rebuilding. They are about the duality between the ugly and the beautiful. I cannot see one without the other. They are one in the same.
I ask how it is possible that we have the capabilities to hate, kill, and destroy while others and even the same person can love so deeply, show compassion without limitations, and have faith and hope at all costs. I try to explore these stark dualities in my recent works about the "ugly" and the "beautiful". I try to see all of what life presents to me everyday. Inside this reality my heart and mind travels through utter despair and sheer elation. I am constantly reminded that I am living and I am blessed beyond words. I feel the responsibility as an artist to reveal truth and remain humble. I want to speak for those who are too frequently forgotten or ignored and to pay honor to fellow creators, musicians, scientists, dancers, and lovers.My sculptures are made up of a variety of organic mediums. These materials take their root in Nature in her purest forms. The found wood pieces, although works of art in and of themselves, are the inspiration of many of my sculptures. They illustrate human life in that we are both mentally and physically twisted, gnarled, smooth, frayed, and knotted. This organic matter reveals itself in a multitude of colors, hardnesses, and shapes as reflected in humanity as well.The second dominant material used in my sculpture collages is clay. I have used various earthen clays, which are fired and then attached to the found wood pieces. The clay allows me to sculpt the face, hands, and feet of the figures with great expression. Together, the wood and clay form figures that tell stories and show deep emotions.
Biography:
Susan Clinard began her sculptural studies as an apprentice at the age
of nineteen. She continued her fine arts education at the University of
Michigan where she also pursued her interest in Cultural Anthropology.
Her strong interest in the social sciences brought her to Chicago in 1994
where she began her career as a social worker with the Illinois Department
of Children and Family Services. She worked exclusively in child and family
welfare. During these emotionally trying years, Susan kept sculpting intensively.
She collaborated with various fine art studios throughout Chicago, worked
on several monuments and established strong working relationships with
fine art foundries. It is at this time that Susan first understood that
sculpture was the unquestionable voice, which would allow her to be true
to herself while also giving back to her community.
Clinard's sculptures express her strong affinity with Nature and her genuine love for all human beings. Whether she is sculpting from models or using memories from her diverse background, she uses Nature's raw forms to narrate the struggles and joys of her subjects. Susan often finds beauty and truth in life's most challenging times. Her passionate observation of the human body and of its distortion by life has given her a profound knowledge of human nature. Together with her extensive sculpting skills, it enables her to capture the individuality of her subjects and to create sculptures that express strong and vital emotions.
In addition to her figurative work for which she has been awarded scores of commissions, Susan Clinard began experimenting with waxes, found wood, and textile six years ago. Inspired from her puppetry theatre work, she incorporated mixed media to her ceramic and stone sculptures. The strongest work evolving from this discovery period are her found wood and ceramic sculptures. Susan finds weathered wood with organic flowing curves and sees the human form within it. The ceramic heads and hands are added to the wood, illustrating the metamorphosis from one organic life form to another. She also uses clear and brown waxes to soften contours and add fluidity to the form. The wax's transparency glows and mutes the sculptural surface, giving the figures an almost dream-like quality.
She currently teaches stone carving at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and figurative sculpture at the Palette and Chisel Academy, Gallery 37 and Clinard Sculpture Studio. She has conducted demonstrations and workshops at the Muse Pierre Gianadda in Switzerland, The Art Institute of Chicago Museum, National Center on Poverty Law, Museum of Science and Industry, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.