Artist: Susan Dewsnap
Susan Dewsnap, MAINE
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My recent work has been an investigation into the dynamics of how the drawing on the surface and the shape of a piece can be intimately connected. I aspire to create a deep, rich and visually complicated space by reducing my color choices to nearly black and white. There is a graphic quality that draws one in, yet when viewed up close there are subtleties of color and line that cannot be seen from a distance. The high contrast creates an ambiguous space, shapes flip and what is closest recedes, the form emerges and dissolves beneath the surface. I look to painting as much as to ceramic history, as my work draws from art history as an eternal source and presence. I consider each pot as presenting a particular issue or problem to be solved where interior meets exterior. By embracing and reaching outside of decorative practices, as well as working toward a more reductive three-dimensional form, I am trying to merge structure and surface to evoke a response beyond the familiar.
CURRICULUM VITAE
2012 – Present BATES COLLEGE, Lecturer (2017 – present) Visiting Assistant Professor (2012-15) Department of Art and Visual Culture, Lewiston, ME
EDUCATION
MFA-CERAMICS, UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN, Lincoln, NE
BFA-PAINTING, UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE, Durham, NH
Minor-Applied Mathematics (Magna Cum Laude)
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
2017-Present BATES COLLEGE, Lecturer, Department of Art and Visual Culture, Lewiston, ME
2012 – 2016 BATES COLLEGE, Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Art and Visual Culture, Lewiston, ME
2008 – 2012 UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN
• Graduate advisor to 1st and 2nd year ceramic MFA candidates
• Adjunct Faculty, Advanced and Beginning Ceramics:
Sculptural forms, wheel throwing, hand-building, low-fire
and high-fire glazing technology and gas and electric kiln
firing for BFA majors and non-art undergraduates
• Adjunct Faculty, Foundations/ Visual Literacy: Color Theory
integrating the teachings of Itten and Albers with basic
history and contrasts of color, color mixing, form,
composition employing gouache paint mixing and color-aid
papers
2006 – 2008 UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN – Ceramics Teacher of Record Beginning Ceramics
2007 PENLAND SCHOOL OF CRAFTS, Assistant to Gail Kendall
2005 UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN, GTA/Co-taught with Gail
Kendall Beginning, Intermediate and Advanced Ceramics
BATES COLLEGE, Short Term Faculty/Lecturer in Ceramic Art
1998 – 2001 MAINE COLLEGE OF ART, Continuing Education, Portland, Maine
1994 - 2000 MAINE COLLEGE OF ART, Continuing Education–State-wide Secondary Students, Portland, ME
LECTURES, WORKSHOPS, AND RESIDENCIES
2020 MEDALTA INTERNATIONAL ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE PROGRAM, Invited Artist, Summer Residency Program, Alberta, Canada
2017 COLLEGE OF LAKE COUNTY, Visiting Artist, Lecture & Demonstrations, Gray Lake, IL
2016 Invited INSTRUCTOR, POCOSIN ARTS, Pots from the Inside Out, Columbia, NC
2014 MAINE COLLEGE OF ART, Visiting Artist Series, Public lecture and demonstration, Portland, Maine
2013 INSTRUCTOR, PENLAND SCHOOL OF CRAFTS, Workshop: Making Pots Particular, Penland, NC
2013 INSTRUCTOR, HAYSTACK MOUNTAIN SCHOOL, Open Door, Deer Isle, Maine
2004 VISTING ARTIST, MAINE COLLEGE OF ART, Portland, Maine
2005 ASSISTANT to Chris Staley, HAYSTACK MOUNTAIN SCHOOL, Hand, Mind and the Creative Process Workshop
2003-2004 MELLON LEARNING ASSOCIATE, BATES COLLEGE, Lewiston, Maine
2000 VISITING ARTIST, MAINE COLLEGE OF ART, Portland, Maine
SHOWS AND EXHIBITIONS
2020
Lux Center for the Arts, Solo Exhibition, Lincoln, NE
2019
FLOWER CITY ARTS CENTER (FCAC), Flower City Pottery Invitational, Rochester, NY
MUSEUM OF NEBRASKA ART, Compelled to Tell: Drawing, work from the
collection, Kearney, NE
AKAR Design, Yunomi Invitational, invited artist, Iowa City, IA
NCECA (National Conference on Education in the Ceramic Arts), Invited Gallery Expo Exhibitor at Gandee Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
2018
FLOWER CITY ARTS CENTER (FCAC), Flower City Pottery Invitational, Rochester, NY
IN TANDEM GALLERY, Susan Dewsnap & Sam Scott, Bakersville, NC
WORCESTER CENTER FOR CRAFTS, Pottery Invitational Exhibition, Worcester, MA
RADIUS GALLERY, Wild: Blue, Group Exhibition, Invited Artist,
Missoula, MT
SCHALLER GALLERY, CU, The Colors of Copper, Group Exhibition, St.
Joseph, MI
AKAR Design, Yunomi Invitational, invited artist, Iowa City, IA
2017
SANTA FE CLAY, Susan Dewsnap, Martina Lantin, Susie Rubenstein, Santa Fe, NM
SCHALLER GALLERY, CU – The Colors of Copper, Invited Artist, Group
Exhibition, St. Joseph, MI
AKAR Design, Yunomi Invitational, invited artist, Iowa City, IA
SANTA FE CLAY, La Mesa Exhibition, NCECA, Portland, OR
2016
THE SOCIETY OF ARTS AND CRAFTS, Our Cups Runneth Over, Invited Artist, Boston, MA
THE CLAY STUDIO, The Clay Studio National 2016, Philadelphia, PA
SCHALLER GALLERY, Solo Exhibition, St. Joseph, MI
NCECA, The Clay Studio of Philadelphia: The 100 Cups Project, Kansas
City, MO
GLASSEL GALLERY, LSU SCHOOL OF ART, Invited Artist, 8 Fluid Ounces,
Curator: Ayumi Horie, Baton Rouge, LA
SANTA FE CLAY, La Mesa Exhibition, NCECA, Kansas City, MO
AKAR Design, Yunomi Invitational, invited artist, Iowa City, IA
AKAR Design, 30 x 5: Americano Invitational, Iowa City, IA
CRAFT GALLERY, CRAFT Artists in Biennials Past and Present, Rockland,
ME
2015
NCECA Concurrent Exhibition, Santa Fe Clay’s Invitational La Mesa Exhibition, Providence, RI
GREENSCAPES: OF/IN/FROM THE GARDEN, National Invitational, Clay Art
Center, Port Chester, NY
COLLEGE OF LAKE COUNTY, Robert T Wright Gallery, Serviceability,
Invitational Exhibition, Grayslake, IL
CHARLIE CUMMINGS GALLERY, The Functional Canvas, Invitational
Exhibition, Gainesville, FL
UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS Little Rock, The Penland Experience, Little
Rock, AR
SCHALLER GALLERY, Sodium, Invited Artist, St. Joseph, MI
AKAR Design, Yunomi Invitational, invited artist, Iowa City, IA
2014
CENTER FOR MAINE CONTEMPORARY ART, 2014 BIENNIAL, Rockport, ME
JUNE FITZPATRICK GALLERY, December Show: Dewsnap, Cipala &
Rattigan, Portland, ME
COLLEGE OF LAKE COUNTY, Robert T Wright Gallery, Embellished
Surface: Image & Pattern on Clay, Grayslake, IL
ROBERT T WRIGHT GALLERY, Cups II: 60 Artists - 300 Interpretations,
Grayslake, IL
THE CLAY STUDIO-Philadelphia, Gifted, Philadelphia, PA
CHARLIE CUMMINGS GALLERY, Cup,The Intimate Object X,
Gainesville, FL
LUX CENTER FOR THE ARTS, Generation: Ceramic Art and the UNL
Legacy, 1999-2013, curated by Gail Kendall, Lincoln, NE
NCECA Concurrent Exhibition, Santa Fe Clay’s Invitational La Mesa
Exhibition, Milwaukee, WI
MARY ANDERSON CENTER FOR THE ARTS, Second Biennial Mint Julep
Cup Invitational, Mt. Saint Francis, IN
2013
JUNE FITPATRICK GALLERY, New Work: Paul Heroux & Susan Dewsnap, Portland, ME
SANTA FE CLAY, NCECA La Mesa Exhibition, Santa Fe Clay, Houston , TX
O’KANE GALLERY, NCECA Concurrent Exhibition, Big Red Invitational,
Curator Margaret Bohls, University of Houston-Downtown Campus
Gallery, Houston , TX
DOW STREET STUDIO GALLERY, 20 / 20 Vision, Deer Isle, ME
2012
NEBRASKA ARTS COUNCIL, Awarded Commission for Governor’s Arts Awards, Omaha, NE
SIGNATURE GALLERY, Generosity of Spirit: The Gifts of Penland Artist,
Invitational Exhibition, Atlanta, GA
WATERSHED CENTER FOR CERAMIC ARTS, 25 For the 25th Anniversary,
Invitational Exhibition and Sale, Newcastle, ME
BALTIMORE CLAYWORKS, Daily Companions, Invited Artist, Baltimore, MD
EISENTRAGER-HOWARD GALLERY, Biennial Faculty Exhibition, University
of Nebraska-Lincoln, NE
AKAR Design, Yunomi Invitational, invited artist, Iowa City, IA
LILLSTREET ART CENTER, Featured Artist, Chicago, IL
2011
LUX CENTER FOR THE ARTS, Solo Exhibition, Lincoln, NE
AKAR Gallery, 30 x 5 Invitational: Salt/Soda Invitational, AKAR Design,
Iowa City, IA
HARVEST: A Ceramics Invitational in conjunction with an exhibition of
drawings by Ron Kovatch; Edwardsville Art Center, Edwardsville, IL
BEYOND FORM: EXPLORING THE CERAMIC SURFACE, Peninsula Fine Arts
Center, Newport News, VA
THE ART SCHOOL AT OLD CHURCH, Demarest, NJ, 37th Annual Karen
Karnes Invitational Pottery Show and Sale
STRICTLY FUNCTIONAL POTTERY NATIONAL, Market House Craft Center,
East Petersburg, PA, Juror: Mary Barringer
RIVER 2 RIVER JURIED SHOW, The Ceramics Center, Cedar Rapids, IA
THE GENUINE ARTICLE, The June Gallery, Helena, MT
AKAR Design Gallery, Yunomi Invitational, invited artist, Iowa City, IA
THE CLAY STUDIO, Cups and Coffee Invitational, Philadelphia, PA
LILLSTREET ART CENTER, Juried Gallery Artist, Chicago, IL
2010
STRICTLY FUNCTIONAL POTTERY NATIONAL, BEST OF SHOW, Juror: Bill
van Gilder Market House Craft Center, East Petersburg, PA,
CRAFTFORMS 2010, WAYNE ART CENTER, Wayne, PA, Juror: Jane
Milosch
THE ART SCHOOL AT OLD CHURCH, Demarest, NJ, 36th Annual Karen
Karnes Invitational Pottery Show and Sale
18th SAN ANGELO NATIONAL CERAMIC COMPETITION, Museum Purchase,
San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, San Angelo, TX
LARK & KEY GALLERY, “Table Manners” Invitational Group Show, Charlotte,
NC
NCECA NEXPO Exhibition, Invited artist, Philadelphia, PA
CONTEMPORARY CLAY, Invited Artist, W Colorado Center for the Arts, Grand
Junction, CO
AKAR Design, Yunomi Invitational, invited artist, Iowa City, IA
CONTAINED Invitational Exhibit, Schaller Gallery, Red Lodge, MT
NATIONAL JURIED CUP EXHIBITION, Lux Center for the Arts, Lincoln, NE,
Juror: Linda Arbuckle
2009
5TH WORLD CERAMIC BIENNALE KOREA INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION, Icheon, Republic of Korea, Honorable Mention
NCECA Clay National Biennial Exhibition, Arizona State University Museum,
Tempe, AZ, Purchase Award Amaco/Brent
AKAR Design, Featured Artist, Iowa City, Iowa
FEATS OF CLAY XXII, Lincoln Arts & Culture Foundation, Lincoln, CA, Juror:
Tony Marsh
STRICTLY FUNCTIONAL POTTERY NATIONAL, Market House Craft Center,
East Petersburg, PA, Juror: Pete Pinnell
LILLSTREET ART CENTER, 4x4 Invitational Exhibition, Chicago, IL
SEWARD PARK CLAY STUDIO Invitational Exhibition, David Smith and
Company, Seattle, WA
LUX CENTER FOR THE ARTS, Work from the Heart, Lincoln, NE
NATIONAL JURIED CUP EXHIBITION, Lux Center for the Arts, Lincoln, NE,
Juror: Pete Pinnell
CENTER FOR MAINE CONTEMPORARY ART, Work of the Hand, Invited Artist,
Rockport, Maine
2008
GENNESEE CENTER FOR THE ARTS, HISTORY IN THE MAKING III, Award: First Place, Rochester, NY, Juror: Linda Sikora
CUP: THE INTIMATE OBJECT IV, invitational exhibit, Charlie Cummings
Gallery, Gainesville, FL
17TH ANNUAL SAN ANGELO NATIONAL CERAMIC COMPETITION, San
Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, San Angelo, TX
16th ANNUAL STRICTLY FUNCTIONAL POTTERY NATIONAL, Juror: Linda
Arbuckle, Market House Craft Center, East Petersburg, PA
LUX CENTER FOR THE ARTS, In the Showroom, Lincoln, Nebraska
WATERSHED CENTER FOR CERAMIC ARTS, Salad Days Invitational Sale,
Newcastle, ME
EISENTRAGER-HOWARD GALLERY, What is In Front of You, MFA Thesis
Exhibition, Lincoln, NE
2007
THE CLAY STUDIO, Fourth Annual Marge Brown Kalodner Graduate Student Exhibition, Philadelphia, PA
ART OF FINE CRAFT CONFERENCE REGIONAL JURIED EXHIBITION, Elder
Gallery, Nebraska Wesleyan University, Award: Best of Show,
Jurors Kathryn Finnerty, Jeanne Quinn & Paulus Berensohn
THE LUX CENTER, Clay Convergence, UNL Ceramic Graduate Students,
Lincoln, NE
WATERSHED CENTER FOR THE CERAMIC ARTS, Salad Days Invitational
Sale, ME
UMC Art Gallery, COllaboratioNE, Boulder, Colorado
2006
THE HAYDEN GALLERY, New Visual Voices, UNL MFA Students, Lincoln, Nebraska
PERU STATE COLLEGE ART GALLERY, CodeRed, Peru, NE, Invitational
2005
UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA ROTUNDA GALLERY, UNL MFA Ceramics: Recent Work, Lincoln, Nebraska
WORCESTER CRAFTS CENTER, Karen Karnes Ceramics Invitational,
Worcester, MA
L/A ARTS CENTER, All Maine Invitational, Exhibit and Auction, Auburn,
Maine
2000 – 2006
WATERSHED CENTER FOR THE CERAMIC ARTS, Benefit Show and Sale, Newcastle, ME
2004
CENTER FOR MAINE CONTEMPORARY ART, The Inspired Hand II, Juried Show
AUCOCISCO GALLERY, Watershed Center for Ceramic Art Benefit Show,
Portland, ME
WORCESTER CRAFTS CENTER, “Handle It” Invitational Show, Worcester,
MA
HONORS AND AWARDS
2010 Best of Show, Strictly Functional Pottery National Exhibition
2009 Purchase Award, NCECA Clay National Biennial Exhibition, Arizona State University Museum, Tempe
Honorable Mention, 5TH WORLD CERAMIC BIENNIAL KOREA INTERNATIONAL
COMPETITION
2008 First Place Award, HISTORY IN THE MAKING III, Rochester, NY, Juror: Linda Sikora
Best of Show, ART OF FINE CRAFT CONFERENCE REGIONAL JURIED
EXHIBITION, Elder Gallery, Nebraska Wesleyan University
2005-2008 OTHMER FELLOWSHIP AWARD University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska
2005-2008 FULL GRADUATE TEACHING ASSISTANTSHIP, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
GALLERY REPRESENTATION
2002 - 2019
The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA
June Fitzpatrick Gallery, Portland, Maine
AKAR Clay, Iowa City, Iowa
Schaller Gallery, St. Joseph, Michigan
In Tandem Gallery, North Carolina
Lux Center for the Arts, Lincoln, Nebraska
Dow Street Studio, Deer Isle, Maine
CRAFT, Rockland, Maine
PROFESSIONAL SERVICE
2015 Juror: Maine College of Art Alumni Exhibition at NCECA Conference, Providence RI
BIBLIOGRAPHY
2018 CERAMICS MONTHLY, Exposure, September 2018, p. 12
2017 CERAMICS MONTHLY, Exposure, April 2017, p. 16
Van Cleve, Emily, “Functional Beauty”, Santa Fe Arts Journal, April 2, 2017
2016 100 Artists 1000 Cups, The Clay Studio, March 3, 2016, (online publication https://issuu.com/theclaystudio/docs/1000cupsbooksm)
2014 Verzosa, Andres Azucena, “CMCA Biennial Brings Emerging Artists
to the Fore” Art New England, November/December 2014
Kany, Daniel, “Art review: At June Fitzpatrick Gallery, Craft-As-Art A
Comfortable Fit” Portland Press Herald Sunday Lifestyle, December
21, 2014
2012 Wolgamott, Kent L. “...Best of Lincoln art in 2011” Lincoln Journal Star, January 1, 2012
2011 Wolgamott, Kent L. “Dewsnap shows some of nation’s best pottery at Lux”, Lincoln Journal Star, August 28, 2011
2010 CERAMICS MONTHLY, December 2010, Up Front Review, p. 22
2008 CERAMICS MONTHLY, October 2008, Up Front Review, p. 32
2007 CERAMICS MONTHLY, August/September 2007, The MFA Factor, p. 43
COLLECTIONS
San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, San Angelo, Texas
University of Nebraska Foundation, Lincoln, Nebraska
University of Arkansas Little Rock
MONA, Kearney, Nebraska