Susan Abrams
Artist’s Statement
I am a photographer and papermaker. I have been immersed in the complexities of handmade paper for many years, exploring the unique structural and textural qualities of the material. I began to incorporate photography into my work, printing directly onto my handmade paper using an applied silver emulsion and recently also taking advantage of digital printing to explore the addition of color.
Photography and hand papermaking are both process centered. The melding of my paper and photographic vision occurs in the darkroom. The paper is coated with silver emulsion, exposed and developed using traditional darkroom techniques. There are many more variables inherent in printing a photograph on handmade paper than on commercial paper. For example, different pulp fibers absorb silver emulsion and interact with photographic chemicals in ways that are unpredictable. Sometimes but not always this creates tonal variations. The same negative printed on paper made from abaca (banana fiber) will be quite different from one in which kozo (an Asian mulberry) has been added to the pulp. Even when the paper is the same, differences in the application or the thickness of the emulsion affects the final print. Every step in the process yields opportunities for interaction and discovery resulting in a unique print that embodies my artistic intention as well as the unexpected.
All of my photographs reflect my fascination with natural patterns and texture. I am interested in the natural cycles that are part of life. The combination of a particular negative a paper transforms the image from one that is generically pleasing to one that is singular and somewhat abstract, capturing the universal forces of generation, growth and decay.
Resume
Resident Artist and Treasurer, Nexus/foundation for today’s art
Solo Exhibitions
2006 Cuttings, Courthouse Gallery, Lake George Arts Project, Lake George, NY
2005 Silver on Silk: Veiled Portraits, Nexus/foundation for today's art, Philadelphia, PA
2003 Out of the Woods, Community Gallery Solo Series, Abington Art Center, Jenkintown, PA
2001 Gallery at Boland Hall, St. Joseph’s University, Philadelphia, PA
1999 Local Art at Ludington, Bryn Mawr, PA
Selected Exhibitions
2006 Works on Paper, Arcadia University Art Gallery, Glenside, PA. Juror: Cornelia Butler, MOMA
2006 Photography 25, Perkins Center for the Arts, Juror: Katherine Ware, PMA
2006 Annual Juried Exhibition - Photography, Muse Gallery, Philadelphia, PA. Juror: Stephen Perloff.
2005 Best of Show, Gallery 1401, University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA
2005 Noteworthy, Perkins Center for the Arts, Moorestown, NJ
2005 Art of the State: Pennsylvania 2005, The State Museum of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, PA, Juror: Stephen Perloff
2005 Works on Paper + Photographs, Exhibit 231 Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2005 The Silver Garden, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA, Curator: Katherine Ware
2005 Photography 24, Perkins Center for the Arts, Moorestown, NJ, Juror: Vicki Harris
2004-5 Discontent, Nexus/foundation for today's art, Philadelphia, PA
2004 Phillips' Mill Photographic Exhibition, New Hope, PA,
Jurors: Derek Fell, Kenneth Kaplowitz & Roger Matsumoto
2004 Lasting Impressions: Works on Paper, Marsha Child Contemporary, Princeton, NJ
2004 Group – 5 New Resident Artists, Nexus/foundation for today’s art, Philadelphia, PA
2003 Best
of Show, The Photo Review 2003 Competition Prize Winners, Gallery 1401,
Philadelphia, PA
2003 Sculptural Prints, The Print Center, Philadelphia, PA, Curator: Jacqueline van Rhyn
2003 Phillips' Mill Photographic Exhibition, New Hope, PA,
Jurors: Nancy Ori, Katherine Ware, and David Lorentz Winston.
2003 In
Depth, Main Line Art Center, Jurors:
Marion Pritchard, Maita Milone, and
Bill Scott.
2003 Photography
22, Perkins Center for the Arts,
Moorestown, NJ,
Juror: Deborah Bell
2002 Lancaster Museum of Art, Photo National, Jurors: Therese Mulligan and Jeanne Verhulst
2002 Maryland Federation of Art's 25th Art on Paper Exhibition, Juror: Stephen B. Phillips.
2002 Annual Juried Show, Abington Art Center, Jurors: Becky and Gil Kerlin.
2001 Spectra
'01, Third National Photography Biennial, Silvermine Guild Art Center,
New Canaan, CT, Juror: Marianne Bunson Frisch
2001 Introduction, Pentimenti Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2001 Philadelphia/Tri State Artist Equity Invitational Exhibit, Memorial Hall, Philadelphia, PA
2001 New
Directions, Main Line Art Center,
Haverford, PA
Jurors: Claudia Gould, Christine Filippone, Gary Sangster
2001 Photography
20, Perkins Center for the Arts,
Moorestown, NJ
Juror: Katherine Ware
2000 Art Works/Water Works Exhibit, Liberty Place, Philadelphia, PA
2000 The Print Center 74th Annual International Competition, Philadelphia, PA
Juror: Therese Mulligan
2000 Philadelphia Sketch Club Photography 2000, Philadelphia, PA
Jurors: Robert Emmot, William Hirsch, and Katherine Ware
1999 Philadelphia/Tri State Artist Equity Millennial Exhibition,
The American College, Bryn Mawr, PA, Juror: Jonathan Van Dyke
1999 Rice-Polak Gallery, Provincetown, MA
1998 Photo:Synthesis, Philadelphia Art Alliance, Philadelphia, PA, Curator: Gabe Martinez
Selected Awards
2005 4th Prize, The Photo Review 21st Annual Photography Competition, Juror: David Schonauer, Editor, American Photo
2005 First Prize for Photography, Art of the State, Juror: Lisa Tremper Hanover
2004 Patron's Award, Phillips' Mill Photographic Exhibition
2004 Selected
Image. The Photo Review 20th
Annual Photography Competition Issue.
Juror: Katherine Ware, Philadelphia Museum of Art
2003 1st
Place Award. The Photo Review, 19th
Annual Photography Competition,
Juror: Bill Hunt, Ricco/Maresca Gallery
2003 2nd Place Award. Phillips' Mill Photographic Exhibition
2001 Juror's Award. Perkins Center for the Arts, Photography 20
2000 Taws Award. The Print Center, 74th Annual International Competition
1999 Art Bank Award. Philadelphia/Tri State Artists Equity, Millennial Exhibition
2003
Hand Papermaking for Photography
Camera Arts, December, 2003/January,
2004.
Work is represented in the collection of The Philadelphia Museum of Art, the corporate collections of McGraw-Hill, Merck & Co., as well as private collections in the United States, Canada and Great Britain.
University of Pennsylvania, BS
Bryn Mawr College, MA