Susan Begy is an interdisciplinary U.S. artist interested in the shared aspects of being human in all realms, i.e. psychological, cultural, biological. She creates graphite drawings of large, twisted forms made up of smaller images—an interplay of the macro and micro. Using similar twisted forms, she makes carved stone sculptures, sometimes incorporating other materials such as steel, glass, or found objects. Begy’s work explores power dynamics, polarity, hypocrisy, and productive cooperation. Her sculptures and drawings, simultaneously elegant and uncomfortable, often reflect upon nurturance and conflict. Her collaborative projects playfully reimagine human interactions and institutions.
Begy was a finalist for a 2015 Creative Capital grant in Emerging Fields for Econival™, a carnivalesque interactive event based on economics. The project was featured in its research and development stage on Creative Capital’s ‘On Our Radar’ in 2016. She created Art Collision & Repair Shop™, in which teams of artists transform the unfinished or "stalled" work of other artists. The project debuted at Center for Contemporary Art Santa Fe in 2014-15 and was a coalescing force in the Santa Fe art community.
In 2010, Begy earned her MFA in Fine Art from School of Visual Arts in New York City. Her works have been exhibited in contemporary art centers and galleries in the U.S. and Europe. She has co-founded and co-directed artist-run exhibition spaces in Los Angeles and Brooklyn. She currently lives and works in Rochester, NY.
Education
2010 MFA Fine Arts, School of Visual Arts, New York, NY
1984 BA Studio Art, magna cum laude, Western State College of Colorado
Selected Exhibitions
2017
Cryin' Out Loud, curated by Micol Hebron, Center for Contemporary Art Santa Fe, NM
2016
Outer Local, curated by Scuba, David Richard Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
DISPATCH, presented by SCUBA and Strangers Collective, ART.i.factory, Santa Fe, NM
We the Extranimals, Axle Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM (solo)
2015
Art Collision & Repair Shop™, Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Fe, NM
2014
Hot Mess, curated by Kathryn M. Davis, Offroad Productions, Santa Fe, NM
Used, Gallery Zipp, Glorieta, NM
2013
per square foot, The Shirey, Brooklyn, NY, curator
Hopscotch, collaboration with Sasha Sumner, curated by Radhika Subramaniam, Art in Odd Places: Number, New York, NY
veiled, Eggman & Walrus Gallery, Santa Fe, NM (solo)
structural mischief, pop-up exhibition, Santa Fe, NM
2012
Ladies and Gentlemen, curated by Maria José Duran Steinman, The Tree: Nomadic Art Initiatives, New York, NY
dos XX's, with Rachel Fainter and Colleen Ford, The Shirey, Brooklyn, NY
primordial soup, pop-up exhibition, Brooklyn, NY
2011
Spontaneous Combustion, Gallery Zipp, Santa Fe, NM
2010
Plus One, curated by Dan Cameron, Perry Rubenstein Gallery, New York, NY
That's Just It, curated by Stephen Maine, Visual Arts Gallery, New York, NY
Thanks...but it's actually on purpose, curated by Augusto Arbizo, Visual Arts Gallery, New York, NY
2009
Le Prix de la Sculpture Noilly Prat, ArtParis, Grand Palais, Paris, France
2008
Group Exhibition, The Edge Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
2005
Topanga Canyon Gallery Juried Open, juror Patricia Howard, Topanga, CA
2004
California Landscapes, California Heritage Museum, Santa Monica, CA
Group Exhibition, California State University at Channel Islands, Camarillo, CA
Inaugural Exhibition, Satsuma Gallery, North Hollywood, CA
Got the Blues, Topanga Canyon Gallery, Topanga, CA
Taming of the Elements, with Laurent Diemer, Topanga Canyon Gallery, Topanga, CA
2003
The Written Word, Topanga Canyon Gallery, Topanga, CA
2002
Topanga Canyon Gallery Juried Open, juror Patricia Correia, Los Angeles, CA
2000
Where are the Best Painters in Rochester, Gallery at High Falls, Rochester, NY
Group Exhibition, Elizabeth Collection, Rochester, NY
1999
A Little of This, A Little of That, Kicks, Rochester, NY
1996
National Exhibition of Women's Works on Paper VI, Shoestring Gallery, Rochester, NY
1993
National Exhibition of Women's Works on Paper III, Shoestring Gallery, Rochester, NY
1991
Utopian Ideas and Multiple Realities, collaboration with Ann Clarke, Pyramid Arts Center, Rochester, NY
Professional Experience, Fellowships, Awards
2015
Econival, finalist for a Creative Capital grant in Emerging Fields
The Mechanics of Making Art, panel discussion, Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Fe, NM
2014-Present
Art Collision & Repair Shop™, creator, artist, co-curator
2011-Present
The Shirey, a shared studio and not-for-profit exhibition space curating and promoting the work of emerging artists in Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY.
2012
Art in General, curatorial fellow, New York, NY.
2010
No Longer Empty, installation intern, New York, NY
2009
Le Prix de la Sculpture Noilly Prat, sculpture commission project, United States delegate, Paris, France
2004-05
Co-Director, Topanga Canyon Gallery, Topanga, CA
2003-05
Co-Founder, Co-Director, Satsuma Gallery, North Hollywood, CA
1996
National Exhibition of Women's Works on Paper VI, Juror Award, Rochester, NY
Reviews
"(Art) Worlds Collide," Santa Fe Reporter, November 2014
"The Zen of Art-Upcycling Maintenance: A Show of Teamwork," Santa Fe New Mexican, November 2014
"You've Got Veil," Santa Fe Reporter, April 2013
California Canyon Short Essays on Artists of Topanga, DVD, 2004
Topanga Messenger, April 2004
Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, October 1996
Lake Effect Magazine, May 1996
Upstate New Yorker Magazine, February 1994
Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, March 1993
Mountain Thought Review, Spring 1984
Collections
Noilly Prat, Marseilles, France
CT USA Bank, Naples Florida
Western State College of Colorado, Gunnison, CO
Private Collections in USA, Canada, France, Italy