Ikebana
Sea Blossom
Fascicle
Heliophilous
Allure
Why Our Hangers | 2011, wire hangers, string Five piece suspended installation, 12’ high, variable width
A Flexible Perspective  | 2012, Jute, dye, cardboard Thirty piece suspended installation; 21’h, length /21’w
Mental Notes | 2009, book page, copper wire Thirty two piece suspended installation, 10’ x 10’
Residence Pod | 2011, grapevine, wire, approximately 8’ x 8’
 Watermark | 2010, book page, cardboard tubing Multiple piece, wall mounted, 20’ x 20’
Dwelling | 2010, tree limbs, branches, bailing wire, approximately 21’ x 20’
Loosing Touch | 2011, sod, wheat grass, plaster cast hands, wire 25 piece suspended installation, approximately 8’ x 8’
Tree Constituted | 2012, paper mache cups, discarded office papers, approximately 7’ x 10’
Sensatus, tree limbs | branches, bailing wire Three piece sculpture, organic configuration 21’ x 20'
Nest | 2012, twigs, acrylic paint, 24” x 18”
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Deep Sea Space
In the Absence of Words
Camoflouge
Frolic
Mermaid’s Whirl
Surfacing
Chestnut
Edamame
Legume
Floatilla
Iktomi
Robe
Sabah
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Member Portfolio

Susan Benarcik

Wilmington, DE

Résumé

Artist Statement

I spend a lot of time in nature, with plants. They are part of almost every facet of my life: my work, social interests, the things I read, the artwork I make. Even as a child, I was obsessed with greenhouses and gardens. I observed plants and their reactions to their environment, and thought perhaps that I had a better understanding of plants than of people. As I began to make art formally, I delighted in expressing how humans and plants possess tenacious and yielding qualities, they can either wilt or flourish in the face of adversity. I used nature and plants as metaphors for the human experience, and titled mixed media work on paper, “Feeling Dormant,” “Attempting Actuality,” and “This Wall Grows Around Me.”
Over the years, my work became increasingly experimental and temporal. I found that organic materials such as earth, vines, flowers, roots, and seeds, had global associations, and by incorporating these materials in my work I could communicate a universal connection to the environment. My early large-scale sculptural works entitled, “Greenhouse Effect,” “Mental Notes,” and “Losing Touch with Reality,” each made with natural and found materials, yielded to the elements as they moved in the breeze, grew, rotted, and disintegrated.
Presently, my sculptural work and mixed media on paper are on many levels about how all species- plants, animals, and humans consciously and unconsciously respond to their physical environments. My human-scale installations are designed to engage viewers in a very physical way, by creating environments for bodies to consciously or unconsciously react to. My smaller sculptures begin as investigations of natural forms created by living organisms, and end as expressions of new life forms. A curiously camouflaged, papier-mache sculpture appropriately titled “Adapting Algae” drips down a wall in a gallery space, suggesting natural adaptation to an imposed environment. Making connections between human interests and the environment, I layer, stitch, and graft together images, maps, photographs, natural materials, and words in my mixed media works on paper.
Whether I use words, images, or organic materials to convey my thoughts regarding all species and their connection to their environments, nature is my rubric and my compass, inspiration and model, and serves as the grand strategist and engineer with all the answers that continually lures me to its company.

Education

Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, MI
MFA, Printmaking
Rosemont College, Rosemont, PA
BFA

Awards & Honors

2019
Individual Artist Fellowship Grant, Delaware Division of the Arts and Delaware State Arts Council
2017
National Endowment for the Arts Challenge America Grand to Organizations and Artists
2011
Artist as Entrepreneur Program, New York Foundation for the Arts
2009
Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant Award
2008
Fellowship, The Center For Emerging Visual Artists (CFEVA)
2006
Award for Outstanding Craft Exhibition, Delaware Center for Contemporary Art, Wilmington, DE
1992
Artist Residency/Fellowship, Core Program Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX
1991
Artist Residency/ Fellowship, Core Program Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX

Residencies
2010
Artist in Residence, Digital Stone Project, Mercerville, NJ
Artist in Residence, Wave Hill Artist Residency Program, New York, NY
2006
Artist in Residence, Edward F. Albee Foundation, Montauk, NY
2005
Artist in Residence, I-Park, East Haddam, CT
2003
Artist in Residence, Edward F. Albee Foundation, Montauk, NY
1994
Artist in Residence, Edward F. Albee Foundation, Montauk, NY
1989
Apprentice, Fabric Workshop of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA

Bibliography

2013
Isaacs, J. Susan, Encountering Nature, Catalogue, August 2013
Crafts, Lark, 500 Paper Objects, April 2013
Juror: Gene McHugh
2012
Schwartz, Chip, "Out of Bounds," Knight Arts, July 2012
Donohue, Victoria, "Body Awareness," Philadelphia Inquirer, February 10, 2012
2010
Donohue, Victoria, "Sculpting Nature," Philadelphia Inquirer, August 31, 2010
Perkins, Marie, Print and Pattern: A Visual Celebration of Contemporary Surface Design, April 15, 2010 p. 282
Aarons, Asa, "TriBeCa Workspace Sprouts Eco-Friendly Jobs," NY 1 Living, January 24, 2010
2009
Studio Visit:A juried selection of International Visual Artists Vol. 8, January 2009 p. 11
Marsh, Anna, In Design Issue: Encounters with People Products Projects #37, January 2009 p. 32
Lubowski-Jahn, Alicia, "Launch Green Spaces A Place for Ecopreneurs," Eco-Chick, November 18, 2009
Doan, Abigail, "Recycled Paper Sculptures by Susan Benarcik," Inhabitat, January 17, 2009
Nelson, Stephanie, "Green Artist Spotlight: Susan Benarcik," Natural Home Magazine, February 18, 2009
Tiger, Caroline, "New Salons: Homes are Where the Art Is," The Philadelphia Inquirer, October 17, 2008
Cole, Marissa, "Artist Gives Found Materials A New Form," Wilmington News Journal, June 9, 2005
Donohoe, Victoria, "LIMINAL," The Philadelphia Inquirer, September 20, 1998

Collection

(Permanent Installations and Commissioned Works)
First Dibs, New York, NY
Paoli Hospital Sculpture Garden, Paoli, PA
Museum of Fine Art Print Collection, Houston, TX
I-Park Sculpture Park, East Haddam, CT
Elisabeth and Michael Kalogris Collection, Devault, PA, New York, NY
Edward F. Albee Foundation Collection, New York, NY
Private Collection, Fishers Island, FL
Printmaking Workshop, New York, NY
Archer Huntington Gallery, University of Texas at Austin, TX
Franklin Furnace Archive at MOMA, New York, NY
Library of Congress, Washington, DC
The Sheraton Society Hill Collection, Philadelphia, PA
Du Pont CO. Private Collection, Wilmington, DE
Madison Art Center, Madison, WI
Oregon Art Institute, Portland, OR
University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
Print Club of Albany, Albany, NY
California State University, Long Beach, CA

Professional Experience

Teaching and Workshops
2017
Jester Art Space, Wilmington, DE
2016-2017
Delaware College Art & Design, Wilmington, DE
New Mediums; New Perspectives
Main Line Art Center, Haverford, PA
Fiber Metamorphosis
2016
Abington Art Center, Jenkintown, PA
2015 - 2017
Delaware College of Art & Design, Wilmington, DE
Main Line Art Center, Haverford, PA
Highlands Art Garage, Wilmington, DE
General Electric Global Leadership Program, Crontonville, NY
2015
Mt Cuba Center, Hockessin, DE
2014
Delaware Center for Horticulture, Wilmington, DE
Eco-Fusion Workshop
2012-2015
General Electric Global Leadership Program, Crotonville, NY
Lecture/Workshop
2012 - 2013
K-5 Educator, A Living Library & Think Park at PS 217, Roosevelt Island, NY
2010
Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia, PA
Sustainability and the Artist's Practice
Lectures and Talks
2012
Visiting Artist Lecturer, "Surface Design," University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA
2010
Graduate Seminar Lecture, "Sustainability + the Artist’s Practice," Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia, PA
CFEVA Artist Lecture Series, "Artists Working In the Environment," Philadelphia, PA
Panel Artist, Wave Hill Winter Workspace Program, Bronx, NY

Exhibitions

Solo
2019
Evidence of Meaning, Adkins Arboretum, Ridgely, MD
2018
NEST; A Collaborative Project, Creative District, Wilmington, DE
The Arden Woods, Buzz Ware Village Center, Arden, DE
2017
Tower Hill School, Wilmington, DE
Blossoms, Old City Publishing, Philadelphia, PA
2016
Mezzanine Gallery, Delaware Division of the Arts, Wilmington, DE
2015
Sculpture, Highlands Art Garage, Wilmington, DE
2012
The Grey Area, New York Design Center, New York, NY
2011
Open Studio Tour, The Random Tea Salon, Philadelphia, PA
Artist Selections, Jen Going Interiors, Westhampton Beach, NY
Photography and Drawing, The Gardener, Berkley, CA
2010
Material Texture, Desiron SoHo, New York, NY
2008
Collected Responses, 125 Maiden Lane, New York, NY
2007
A Peculiar Nature, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Brooklyn, NY
2006
Watermark, Lyman Allyn Art Museum, New London, CT
2005
Liminal, Delaware Center Contemporary Art, Wilmington, DE
2004
Rethought, Broadway Windows NYU, New York, NY
Somewhere Between, Storage Art Space, New York, NY
2003
Human Conditions, Destinations, New York, NY
Organically Grown, Fiacre & Fleur, Swarthmore, PA
Liminal, Washington Square Windows, New York University, NY
2000
In The Viewing Room, Inman Gallery, Houston, TX

Group
2019
Delaware Division of the Arts, Biggs Museum of Art, Dover, DE
Award Winners XIX
Gateways to Nature, Tyler Arboretum, Media, PA
Trees of Life, Old City Jewish Arts Center, Philadelphia, PA
2018
Delaware Museum of Art, Wilmington, DE
Juried Craft Exhibition
Sublime Art in Nature, Rehoboth Art League, Rehoboth, DE
Alumni Exhibition, Patricia Nugent Gallery, Rosemont, PA
Grand Opening, West Park Towne Place, Philadelphia, PA
Celebrating New Acquisitions
Biennial Outdoor Sculptural Invitational, Adkins Arboretum, Ridgely, MD
2016
Teaching Artist Exhibition, Main Line Art Center, Haverford, PA
2015
InLiquid @ Park Towne Place, Park Towne Place, Philadelphia, PA
Beige!, HERE Art, New York, NY
Curator: Lovina Purple
2014
Expanding Mode, Concepto Hudson, Hudson, NY
Open Channels; Art in the Open, CFEVA Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Prickly, Tender & Steamy, Glyndor Gallery Wave Hill, Bronx, NY
2013
Encountering Nature, Towson University, Towson, MD
2012
Dendrology, The Noyes Museum of Art, Oceanville, NJ
Mad About Art & Design, Tribeca Project Space, New York, NY
Nurturing Nature, Freedman Gallery Albright College, Reading, PA
Consuming Boundaries, Perkins Center for Art, Collingswood, NJ
Bootstrap Festival, New York Foundation for the Arts, New York, NY
A Circumstantial Assembly, Levy Gallery Moore College of Art, Philadelphia, PA
Corporeal, Borowsky Gallery Gershman Y, Philadelphia, PA
2011
National Juried Craft Triennial, Silvermine Craft Center, New Caanan, CT
BASF Private Function, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Gardens Found and Constructed, Spencertown Academy of Art, Spencertown, NY
Leaf Cloud; Nature Tangible and Transcendent, Fair Folks and A Goat, New York, NY
Spring Ecolux Designer Show 2011, Bloomingdale’s Soho, New York, NY
Pasted Papers, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX
Nurturing Nature: Artists and the Environment, Osilas Gallery Concordia College, Bronxville, NY
2010
Dumbo Art Project Collaboration, West Elm Showroom, Brooklyn, NY
Sculpting Nature, CFEVA Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Nature’s Enchantment, Tyler Arboretum, Media, PA
Free Form, Rowan University Art Gallery, Glassboro, NJ
The Garden, Tribeca Project Space, New York, NY
The Ins and Outs, Rockland Center for Art, West Nyack, NJ
Green Art for Green Spaces, Green Spaces NYC, New York, NY
2009
CFEVA Fellows Exhibit, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Pittsburgh, PA
Introductions, Moore College of Art, Philadelphia, PA
Narrative Thread: an Invitational, Lyons Wier Ortt Gallery, New York, NY
Viridis, The Hewitt Gallery, New York, NY
White Hot, Bahdeebahdu, Philadelphia, PA
Trifolia, Delaware Center for Horticulture, Wilmington, DE
Gallery in The Garden, Private Residence, Devault, PA
Home is Where the Art Is, Philadelphia Opens Studios
2005
Second Nature, Crafts for Living, East Falls, PA
Sticks and Stones, Private Residence, Devault, PA
2004
Gallery in The Garden, Private Residence, Kempton, PA
Pulp Fiction, Bahdeebahdu, Philadelphia, PA
2003
Gallery in The Garden, Private Residence, Kempton, PA
Recent Work, Spencertown Academy, New York, NY
2002
Lost & Found, Savage Gallery, Portland, OR
25th Annual Small Works Show, Washington Square Gallery, New York, NY
2001
CoLABoration, GALE Gates, Brooklyn, NY
2000
Gathering Time, Cranbrook Museum, Bloomfield Hills, MI
Gathering Time, Houston Art League, Houston, TX
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