Susan Day
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Biophilia
NightHawk
Dream Image
Horse Vessel
About
Susan Day is a self-taught visual artist living in London, Ontario whose work is predominantly constructed of ceramic. She has an extensive exhibition history and her work has successfully straddled the worlds of contemporary craft and fine art. Susan’s works have been included in various important national and international exhibits including the Body and Society at the Embassy Cultural House in 1988; Revisited at the DIA Art Foundation in New York City, the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, Montana; the Banff Centre in Banff, Alberta; and La Chambre Blanche in Quebec City. Susan received her early art education at Beal Art in London, Ontario. Following that she studied at Sheridan College School of Craft and Design in Lorne Park, Ontario, ARTsake in Toronto, Ontario, the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD) in Halifax, Nova Scotia as well as a residency at the Banff Centre.
“I make large clay vessels which create surfaces for drawings which explore identity, reflections on daily life and dream sequences. Earlier in my career I explored my identity as the child and caregiver of a disabled mother – depicting adaptive devices used by my mother to navigate daily life. This work, situated on ceramic surfaces with its storytelling component, speaks to both historical ceramics and current practitioners exploring and exposing the medium beyond function and technique. While some aspects of my work has received negative criticism due to its difficult and challenging subject matter, I believe these stories need to be told. Pursuing this body of work helped me to gain a broader knowledge through personal investigation of the satellite effects of how illness, trauma, and family clusters of suicide affect identity and self determination of the survivors. Particularly relevant to audiences who have experienced family fragmentation, addictions, and suicides, these artworks offer some understanding and context. Situating the resulting images of this investigation on ceramic vessels and tablets adds a connectedness to the body at the source of this exploration with the tactile nature of the material attracting human touch.
“My ceramic works ranged in scale from objects that can be held in the hand to site-specific installations, including both intimate spaces of the home and monumentally-scaled collaborative public murals on exterior walls. In this work, often situated in environments of struggle for individuals with a disability (washrooms, bedrooms, staircases, entryways, work places), I explored the identity of the disabled and identified myself as ‘the other’, straddling the worlds of ability. The fragility of the clay mirrors the fragility of the body. Images are often situated on dinnerware or other prosaic surfaces, speaking to both the long tradition of ceramic art as a vehicle for storytelling and as a subversively common format to confront the viewer with uncommon images drawn from memory with a gentle hand.”
CV
Selected Exhibitions and Installations: 2024, "A Dream of The Future", London Children’s Museum, London, Ontario 2024, "Resonance", Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery, Waterloo, Ontario 2024, "Canadian Invasion", Van Der Plas Gallery, New York City, New York 2024, "In The Wild", Craft Ontario, Toronto, Ontario 2023, "In Our Midst", McIntosh Gallery, Western University, London, Ontario 2023, "Royal Flush", Van Der Plas Gallery, New York City, New York 2023, "Birds In Flight Exhibition", Westland Gallery, London, Ontario 2023, "30th Anniversary Virtual Exhibition", Embassy Cultural House, London, Ontario 2023, "Transfer Station", Michael Gibson Gallery, London, Ontario 2023, "Les Winterfest", Van Der Plas Gallery, New York City, New York 2023, "Five Shapes" (with Micah Lexier), Birch Contemporary, Toronto, Ontario 2022, "The New Nature", Legacy Park Public Art Installation, Lethbridge, Alberta 2022, "Rays of Light", Van Der Plas Gallery, New York City, New York 2022, "Exterior Facade Installation", Van Der Plas Gallery, New York City, New York 2021, "Community Engaged Public Art Project", McIntosh Gallery, Western University, London, Ontario 2021, "Mosaic House" (with Skinner Architects), Residential Exterior, London, Ontario 2021, "Les Art Crawl", Van Der Plas Gallery, New York City, New York 2021, "Stop Extinction! Restore the Earth", Embassy Cultural House, London, Ontario 2021, "Go Rise and Strike", Embassy Cultural House, London, Ontario 2020, "London Children's Museum", London, Ontario 2020, "Online Pandemic Exhibition", Embassy Cultural House, London, Ontario 2019, "International Women's Day Show", Westland Gallery, London, Ontario 2018, "Waterworks" (with Vicki Easton McClung), Norfolk Art Centre, Simcoe, Ontario 2018, "Exterior Mosaic Project", City of London, London, Ontario 2018, "Exterior Mosaic Project", Old East Village Neighbourhood, London, Ontario 2018, "Canada Exchange Exhibition", Nanjing Youth Cultural Centre, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China 2017, "Celebrate Canada 150 Mosaic", London Clay Art Centre, London, Ontario 2017, "Group Exhibition", Strand Fine Art Services, London, Ontario 2017, "Canada Instructors Exhibition", Suqian Cultural Centre, Soyu, Jiangsu, China 2016, "London Collects", Museum London, London, Ontario 2016, (with Bill Stelpstra), Strand Fine Art Services, London, Ontario 2016, (Faculty Group), John Labatt Arts Centre, Western University, London, Ontario 2010, "Pairings", John Labatt Art Centre, Western University, London, Ontario 1998, Université de Quebec à Chicoutimi, Québec City, Québec 1998, A Space, Toronto, Ontario 1998, Theilsen Gallery, London, Ontario 1996, Theilsen Gallery, London, Ontario 1995, "Embassy Cultural House Installation Documentation", Dia Art Foundation, New York City, New York 1995, "London Exchange" (with Ron Benner, Jamelie Hassan, Kim Moodie, and Wyn Gelynse), Open Space Gallery, Victoria, British Columbia 1993, (with Micah Lexier), McIntosh Gallery, Western University, London, Ontario 1992, "4 From London" (with Greg Curnoe, Murray Favro, and Walter Redinger), Satellite Gallery, St. Thomas, Ontario 1992, La Chambre Blanche, Québec City, Québec 1990, "Dangerous Goods - Feminist Visual Textual Practices" (with Natalka Husar, Jamelie Hassan, Elizabeth MacKenzie, Sandra Meigs, Cherie Moses, and Mary Scott), Edmonton Art Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta 1989, "The Body in Society" (with Leon Golub, Nancy Spero, and John Brown), Embassy Cultural House, London, Ontario Selected Collections: BRONFMAN FOUNDATION, Montreal, Quebec MUSEUM LONDON, London, Ontario MCINTOSH GALLERY, Western University, London, Ontario NUMEROUS WORKS HELD IN PRIVATE COLLECTIONS Awards: 1990, 1991, 1995, Canada Council 1998, 2020, Ontario Arts Council
Press:
2024, "Susan Day: In Our Midst", Akimbo, Blog Post
2023, "Les Winterfest", Van Der Plas Gallery, New York City, New York
2023, "Two From the Road", Beatriz Baleeiro, London Free Press, London, Ontario
2023, "Diary of a Tile Addict - You've Not Seen Tiles Like This", Helen Simpson, Blog Post
2023, "12,000 Tiles One Goal - Mosaic Project Honours Lives Lost to Overdoses", Calvi Leon
2023, "Mural to Convey Theme of Caring at Supervised Drug Treatment Site", Andrew Lupton
2020, "Remembering the Embassy Cultural House", Mackenzie Smith, Embassy Cultural House
2019, "A Cultural Mosaic", Darlene Pratt, Ceramics Monthly
2019, CBC Radio, Rebecca Vanbergen
2019, CBC Radio, Jane Anoniack
1993, "Rethinking Our Secret Biography: Works by Micah Lexier and Susan Day", Ben Benedict
1992, "Dangerous Goods: Feminist Art Practices", Janice Williamson and Elliot Bridges
1990, "Fluid Exchanges: Artists and Critics in the AIDS Crisis", James Miller