Susan York (born 1951) is an American artist and educator, primarily known for her reductive cast graphite sculpture. She lives and works in Santa Fe,

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...

where the quality of light and expansive emptiness of the high desert landscape provides inspiration.

Early life and education

York was born in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New ...

. In 1972, she received a BFA in studio arts from the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25, ...

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding i ...

. In 1995, she received an MFA in ceramics from

Cranbrook Academy of Art The Cranbrook Educational Community is an education, research, and public museum complex in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. This National Historic Landmark was founded in the early 20th century by newspaper mogul George Gough Booth. It consists of Cra ...

. While in college, York created a body of floor-oriented assemblage work. These flat reductive works marked transitions between 2D and 3D materials.

Career

After graduating from UNM, York continued her art practice in Santa Fe, where she had a studio space at a local Zen Center. In 1982, York attended an

Agnes Martin Agnes Bernice Martin (March 22, 1912 – December 16, 2004), was an American abstract painter. Her work has been defined as an "essay in discretion on inward-ness and silence". Although she is often considered or referred to as a minimalist, Mar ...

lecture, where she recalls the impact of Martin's statement: "My paintings are not about what is seen. They are about what is known forever in the mind." This was a pivotal experience and later a mentoring friendship evolved between York and Martin. In 1997, as an artist in residence at the European Ceramic Work Center, in the Netherlands, York began to experiment with integrating her forms within the rooms of a given space. This led to compositions of stacked fragile porcelain shards positioned next to objects blackened with graphite powder rubbed surfaces. York's sculptures are associated with principles of Minimalism with traces of a repetitive hands-on process. Susan York exhibits her work in New York and Europe.

Public collections

Brooklyn Museum The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 1.5 million objects. Located near the Prospect Heights, Crown ...

, Brooklyn, NY *

Lannan Foundation The Lannan Literary Awards are a series of awards and literary fellowships given out in various fields by the Lannan Foundation. Established in 1989, the awards are meant "to honor both established and emerging writers whose work is of exceptional ...

, Marfa, TX and Santa Fe, NM * Museum of Fine Arts of New Mexico, Santa Fe, NM * Museum für Konkrete Kunst, Ingolstadt, Germany * The Maxine & Stuart Frankel Foundation for Art, Bloomfield Hills, MI *

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

Beinecke Library The Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library () is the rare book library and literary archive of the Yale University Library in New Haven, Connecticut. It is one of the largest buildings in the world dedicated to rare books and manuscripts. ...

, New Haven, CT

Works and publications

* * *

References

External links

*
Susan York
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:York, Susan Living people 1951 births 20th-century American sculptors 21st-century American sculptors 20th-century American women artists 21st-century American women artists University of New Mexico alumni Cranbrook Academy of Art alumni People from Newport County, Rhode Island American ceramists American women ceramists American women sculptors Minimalist artists American conceptual artists American installation artists Contemporary sculptors