Artist Statement

In an effort to discover more of nature’s mute secrets, I open myself to the natural world.

Since I was a child tending the garden on my grandparents' upstate New York farm, I could sense the natural world's changing moods, a language alive in feeling. Both in the garden and wild harvesting, I work with plants to make dyes, inks and paints. This is an essential way my artwork expresses the language of the landscape. Working seasonally allows me to observe changes in environmental impacts from year to year, making a visual record of the loss of native plants and changes in topography.

From the many natural elements that arise in my work, flora, seeds, soil patterns, fallen trees or invasive plant habitats, I pull apart individual components of line and form to re-mix and organize elements, bringing a new interpretation through layered composition and a diverse color palette. I also draw great inspiration from poetry. The work of Mary Oliver, Joy Haro, Luis Gluck and Rumi are some of my greatest influences. While I use a variety of ways to connect with my subject, they are all in service of listening to and conveying a story of the environment, as an intuitive exercise, that I explore through art.

Bound together, all these impressions coalesce in an energetic sensation that tells the story of our connection and relationships with the land we call home.

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Artist Biography

Susan Mania is an American contemporary artist. Her paintings and works on paper explore observations of the landscape and its changing dynamics in soft dimensional color and a flexible re-working of organic elements.

Mania attended the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City (AAA) where she was exposed to the world of fiber as a medium for fine art. Her study of natural dyes helps her form a connection with nature, creating paints, inks and collage materials. Following FIT, she attended the College of New Jersey (BFA) and Philadelphia College of Textiles and Sciences (MFA program).

Mania has exhibited throughout the United States and served on the faculty of several schools, including the College of New Jersey, the Waldorf School of Princeton and the Princeton Junior School. She lives and works on the banks of the Lockatong Creek preserve in Stockton, New Jersey.

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Education

1991

MA program, Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science, Philadelphia, PA

1989

BFA The College of New Jersey, Ewing, NJ

1984

AAA Fashion Institute of Technology, New York, NY

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Bibliography

The Book of Arts: Plantarium Publication, October, 2022

McCall, Tris, “An Ambitious and Emotionally Provocative Art Fair 14C Opens at Mana Contemporary” November 11, 2021.

Sustainable Jersey, “Artists and Creative Powerhouses roll up their sleeves to cultivate a sustainable community”, The Dodge Blog, April 2, 2018.

Ingersoll, Keith, “Round and Round”, The Trenton Times, June 4, 1999

Plett, Nicole, “The Art of Fiber, The Fiber of Art”, US 1, October 23, 1996

Purcell, Janet, “Stitches Ahead of Their Time”, The Trenton Times, October 25, 1996

Kirkpatrick, Christian, “Faculty Show Artworks”, Art Matters, January 1993

Kirkpatrick, Christian, “Exhibit Showcases Faculty”, The Courier Times, October 30, 1992

Wilkinson, Carl, “Artworks, Gallery Residents Bring Efforts Out of the Studio”, March 1, 1991

Leung, Shirly, “Artworks Show of Six Area Artists”, The Daily Princetonian, March 1, 1991

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Collections

The Watershed Institute, Pennington, NJ

The Peace Weavers Center, Bath, NY

Isles, Trenton, NJ

Works held in private collections in the United States

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Professional Experience

2005-2022
Art Conservation, Cusworth Conservation, Lambertville, NJ

2017-2021
Art Faculty and Curriculum Development, The Princeton Junior School, Princeton, NJ

1990-2022
Art & Fiber Arts Instructor, Private and Public Schools and Institutions, NJ & PA

1999-2019
Art Faculty, The Waldorf School of Princeton, Princeton, NJ

2017-2018
Consultant, The Creative Assets Inventory, The Dodge Foundation, Frenchtown, NJ

1996-2000
Adjunct Faculty, Department of Art, The College of New Jersey

1990-1998
Art Faculty, Artworks: The Visual Arts School of Trenton, Trenton, NJ

1986-1988
Gallery Sales & Installation, Hrefna Jonsdottir Gallery, Lambertville, NJ

1984-1986
Research and Design Assistant, Elizabeth Gates-Paige, New York, NY

Exhibitions

2023
New Now VI, InLiquid Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

2022
Small Works, Ann St Gallery, Newburgh, NY

Art Fair 14C, Jersey City Armory, Jersey City, NJ

Plantarium, Gallerium Art Exhibitions, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

The Hunterdon Art Tour, The Hunterdon Art Museum, Clinton, NJ

Solo Exhibition, The Gallery @Well Design, Mendham, NJ

2021
Art Fair 14C, Mana Contemporary Glass Gallery, Jersey City, NJ

Covered Bridge Artists, Sergeantsvill, NJ

2020
Unprecedented Times, Esther klein Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

Jam MAM, Montclair Art Museum, Montclair, NJ

2019
Seed/s, The Whittemore, oldwick, NJ

2018
Five at the Mill, The Prallsville Mill, Stockton, NJ

The Hunterdon Art Tour, The Hunterdon Art Museum, Clinton, NJ

Art Jam, Home Front, Princeton, NJ

2017
Solo Exhibition, Remnants of the Land, The Garden Club of Princeton Gallery at the Watershed, Pennington, NJ

The Hunterdon Art Tour, The Hunterdon Art Museum, Clinton, NJ

2015
Members’ Salon, Jurors Choice Award 2016, New Hope Arts, New Hope, PA

2013
Dynamic Nature, Swan Creek Gallery, Lambertville, NJ

2002
Emerging Fiber Artists, DaVinci Art Alliance, Philadelphia, PA

2000
The Trenton City Museum at Ellarslie, Trenton, NJ

1999
Exploration in Fiber Art, The College of New Jersey Gallery, Ewing, NJ

1997
Fiber Art National Contemporary Expression, Muse Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

Art Faculty Exhibition, The College of New Jersey Gallery, Ewing, NJ

1995
Heterodoxy Alice 75, Trenton Avante Garde, Trenton, NJ

1994
Kali Aesthetics, Joe’s Mill Hill, Trenton, NJ

Commission, The Princeton Peace Prize, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ

1993
Commission, The Princeton Peace Prize, Princeton University, Princeton ,NJ

1993
Artworks Faculty Show, Artworks Gallery, Trenton, NJ

1993
Lift and Separate, Trenton Avante Garde, Joe's Mill Hill, Trenton, NJ

1992
Penn Charter Art Exhibition, William Penn Charter School, Philadelphia, PA

1991
Out of the Studio, Artworks Gallery, Trenton, NJ

Fellows at Penland, Northlight Gallery, Penland, NC

1990
Fiber Arts Today, Gallery 141, Eugene, OR

1989
Beyond Tradition Fiberworks, University of Oregon, Eugene OR

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