Susan English’s paintings are rich in their sophisticated vocabulary of color and surface. By expertly pouring layers of tinted polymer paints, English has arrived at a body of work whose minimalist appearance belies their complexities.
Through a series of planned pours and the manipulation of smooth aluminum panels English both directs and anticipates how the paint will accumulate, disperse, resist, and form its own small abstractions. English makes her paintings through process, intention, experience, and chance. The thickness and viscosity of the paint dictates the subtleties in appearance and the intensity of each color. Her painting’s surfaces range from matte to medium or high gloss, each variously absorbing or reflecting light. The panels are assembled into specifically calibrated horizontal or vertical sequences existing always in relationship to the light in the room and the position of the viewer.
Susan English's work has been the subject of solo exhibitions throughout the United Sates. English received a fellowship at the Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts, Ithaca, NY and was Artist-in-Residence at Habitat for Artists, Garrison, NY. Her work has been reviewed in The New York Times, Chronogram, Abstract Art Online and the Philadelphia Inquirer, to name a few. English earned an MFA from Hunter College, New York, NY and BA from Hamilton College, Clinton, NY. She lives and works in Cold Spring, NY.