22 May - 26 June 2010
I was born in the fabulous sixties and, a few years later, was seen wearing those terrible bell-bottom trousers, skimpy jackets with pointed collars and mile-long scarves. Fortunately times have changed. I went to school to ‘get educated' as was said back then and, apart from a few barriers that needed breaking, of the type: ‘she's great at Latin' and ‘she should go to a high school where they study the classics', I managed to go to an artistic High School and then progress to the Accademia of Fine Arts in Venice. To be quite honest, I even tricked my parents by saying that if I could have had a tabby kitten, a present from a school friend, I would have studied at the Faculty of Architecture. The cat lived for twenty years and I was introduced to the world of sculpture under the guidance of Gianfranco Tramontin. We all gained something; a happy cat as well and one less architect with an ulcer. "Young Artist" that I was, I used to join in all sorts of students' collectives at the Bevilacqua La Masa and international expositions of the Accademie di Belle Arti, receive prizes, mentions and the occasional plate in Dutch metal. After being selected to produce a work for the commemorative exhibition for Master Viani which was organized by the Lions Club, I presented a two metre high iron sculpture, cut and joined with a welding torch. This experience gave me the opportunity to put myself into the shoes of a blacksmith , literally the ones which have metal tips on the uppers, and move about in a workshop in Cannaregio. Once I'd started my period of personal exhibitions , the sacred fire of this art took me from Venice to Treviso, Trieste, Bologna, Rome, Bari, Germany and Austria. I moved my works here and there with great satisfaction and, I must say, with devoted collectors in tow. I started teaching sculpture at the Institute of Art in Venice, at the Institute of Art in Ferrara and at the Artistic High School of Venice where I am currently working. My artistic activities continue today, where I like to experiment with different materials, where I am constantly looking for a language of my own to communicate with, where I chase the idea of discovering a horizon. Research, that started some years ago, incorporates my intent to ‘sew' together substance and colour. I use fabrics, hand-made paper, wood, glass, rubber, metal wires, silk and cotton. The idea is to work with superimpositions, as one does with water paints, and draw attention to the concept of space, compressing the third dimension within the weaving of materials. Are people back to using bell-bottomed trousers? … could be my destiny! Susanna
MAY THE 22th - JUNE THE 26TH