Susan Collis (born 1956) is a British artist working in Hackney, London. She is known for crafting ordinary looking, everyday objects from valuable materials. In her approach to sculpture, Collis manages to elevate the mundane, celebrate traditional craft techniques, and encourage viewers to take second, closer looks.

Early life and education

Collis was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, Scotland. She studied sculpture, gaining a BA(Hons) in 2000 at the

Chelsea School of Art Chelsea College of Arts is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London based in London, United Kingdom, and is a leading British art and design institution with an international reputation. It offers further education, further ...

, London and a MA from the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It of ...

in 2002.

Life and work

Collis uses a variety of techniques and strategies to investigate issues concerning interpretation, craft, value and labor. Everyday objects are presented etched, splattered and stained with marks of work, wear and tear. At first glance, the marks seem to be the accidental results of normal use, and as such seem meaningless and not worthy of examination. Collis is interested in the shift of perception that takes place upon discovery that they are, in fact, careful, intentional acts, and that the materials used are traditionally valued for their financial or decorative properties. A tired stepladder covered with paint drips from years of use has been simulated by the meticulous inlaying of diamonds, pearls,

opal Opal is a hydrated amorphous form of silica (SiO2·''n''H2O); its water content may range from 3 to 21% by weight, but is usually between 6 and 10%. Due to its amorphous property, it is classified as a mineraloid, unlike crystalline forms ...

s and other prized materials. A bucket catching a drip from the gallery ceiling may not be the result of neglect, rather a complex staging of pumps, water-tanks and false walls to artificially create the scenario. Typically works involve large amounts of often hidden labor to create an object that may easily go unnoticed, but is replete with value, be it material or conceptual. Much of Collis’ work can go unnoticed and this visual gamble results in a possible conceptual pay-off that rewards concerted investigation by the viewer. Collis’s work has been exhibited at venues including Ikon in Birmingham, the

Walker Art Center The Walker Art Center is a multidisciplinary contemporary art center in the Lowry Hill neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The Walker is one of the most-visited modern and contemporary art museums in the United States and, to ...

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with list of lakes in Minneapolis, thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. ...

, the

Christchurch Art Gallery The Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, commonly known as the Christchurch Art Gallery, is the public art gallery of the city of Christchurch, New Zealand. It has its own substantial art collection and also presents a programme of New ...

in New Zealand, the

Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) is a museum in a converted Arnold Print Works factory building complex located in North Adams, Massachusetts. It is one of the largest centers for contemporary visual art and performing ...

, the

Zabludowicz Collection Chaim "Poju" Zabludowicz (born 6 April 1953) is a Finnish-born British billionaire businessman, art collector and philanthropist.Midgley, Dominic (5 March 2010)"FINN CITY..." ''Highbeam Business'' (London). Retrieved 23 June 2013. Early life a ...

, and the

Israel Museum The Israel Museum ( he, מוזיאון ישראל, ''Muze'on Yisrael'') is an art and archaeological museum in Jerusalem. It was established in 1965 as Israel's largest and foremost cultural institution, and one of the world’s leading encyclopa ...

in Jerusalem. Collis won a British Cement Association Award in 2001, the

Pizza Express PizzaExpress is a British multinational restaurant group, owned by a group of bondholders. It has over 470 restaurants across the United Kingdom and 100 overseas in Europe, Hong Kong, China, India, Indonesia, Kuwait, the Philippines, the Unit ...

Prospects Contemporary Drawing Prize"Engineer - Part Two, Susan Collis"
''Art Daily'', 7 October 2003. Retrieved 2014-03-18. and the Jerwood Student Drawing Prize in 2002.Lucinda Holmes (November 2007
"Susan Collis: Out of the ordinary"
a-n.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-03-18.

References

External links

'Susan Collis: So it goes'
Austin Chronicle, 1 July 2011 * *
V&A Out of the Ordinary: Spectacular Craft
* Extract from 'For all the things we thought we'd love forever' 2009 exhibit catalog:
Conversation between Mackay Butcher, Cylena Simonds and Susan Collis.
' * Meessen De Clercq Gallery
Works by Susan Collis

Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Collis, Susan 1956 births Living people 20th-century Scottish women artists 21st-century Scottish women artists 20th-century British sculptors 21st-century British sculptors Alumni of Chelsea College of Arts Alumni of the Royal College of Art Artists from Edinburgh British conceptual artists Women conceptual artists