about the artist / bio

My mixed media collages on paper have explored themes of nature, place, memory, the human body, feminism, cultural expression, and erasure.  I incorporate photographic imagery with abstraction, visually interpret poetry ,and research history and the arts. Many pieces have grown into series that also include my one-of-a-kind artists books. 

During the pandemic, I worked on a small scale increasingly aware of our world’s fragility and the constant threat of catastrophe.  I thought of Pompeii, an affluent Roman city of beautiful frescos, mosaics, sculpture, baths, and elaborate gardens– all of which disappeared in a moment with the eruption of Mt.Vesuvius.  My use of wrapped, woven, painted and patterned paper echoes my love of ancient architecture and my interest in interpreting contemporary floor plans, adornments and detailed surfaces. These collages evoke built environments that both contain and extend space eliciting memories of the NYC apartments I grew up in, and my interactions through these spaces; they also helped plan Covid escape routes. 

My most recent collages woven on wood looms usually used with wool, are concerned with the erasure and extinction of our natural and human environments and civilization’s destruction due to ignorance ,cruelty,and genocide. These pieces include traditional visual art forms from the Plains Indians, the Huichol from Mexico, and the Polish wood synagogue paintings. I am fascinated with textiles and the contributions made by women with the simplest of materials to create essential objects beautified through design elements ,mending, attaching and repairing. I will continue to  weave, and wrap, experiment with fabric, and create small wall works.

I was trained as a painter and an art educator; as an arts administrator, I directed the visual arts and arts-in-education programs at Henry Street Settlement, and have curated many group and solo exhibitions. I  developed Dialogues in the Visual Arts, an artist conversation series and teach art to adults.

Download Susan Newmark’s Artist CV

Download Susan Newmark’s Curatorial CV

Follow Susan Newmark on Instagram