Exhibit Review: Michi Susan at JRB Art at the Elms

by Frances Hymes, OVAC intern

Windsong 407-10 by Michi Susan. Image courtesy of JRB Art at The Elms. 

Michi Susan’s exhibit was laid out during the month of October in the home-turned-gallery JRB Art at the Elms. The familiar setting of a home is comfortable to enter and browse the all-accessible rooms. In the entrance room two wooden and metal figures stood at the heart of Susan’s show. The two figures placed in the room were submitted without titles and later named Dynasty Figures: Male and Female after their feminine and masculine shapes.  The two look like an aged couple visiting Susan’s show rather than a part of her work. 

 
On the three walls surrounding the weathered sculptures were hangings of Susan’s paintings and mixed media work. A small section dedicated to Susan’s Poem pieces were sparsely placed and numbered allowing the viewer to appreciate them individually. The Poem worksare not pieces of text, instead arrangements of color, symbols, and materials. Their earthy compositions enable a visitor to make poetry of their own. The pieces work as a muse to inspire the viewer with the internal words that come when engaging with them.

Like the Poem pieces the Windsong works are numbered. Viewed from the side I see how wind can movie through Windsong 407-10, and can imagine how it affects the look of the piece as it does.  

Susan’s pieces give the unique opportunity for visitors to interact with their theme rather than only appreciating the work put into them. Her dedication to art is felt through the room and carries into her many paintings and pieces of Windsong and Poem.  Susan’s work is represented throughout the year at  JRB Art at the Elms and can be viewed on the gallery website at www.jrbartgallery.com.