Susan Jane Walp

The Tibor de Nagy Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of new paintings on paper by Susan Jane Walp. This is the artist's seventh exhibition with the gallery.

The artist is admired for her intimate (rarely larger than a foot square), intensely observed still life paintings. In contrast to her works on linen, the paintings on paper encourage more spontaneity and improvisation in the handling of the paint. Unlike the predetermined size of a stretched canvas, the open field of the sheet of paper also allows for the dimensions of the image to be arrived at more organically through the process of working. As in all of her work, the compositions are meticulously arranged and observed, but here the results have more of an air of casual intimacy.

Like many still-life painters, Walp keeps to a chosen repertoire of objects, such as a yellow glass bowl, Morandi-like vases, melons and grapefruit, that she paints over and over – often in the very same composition. This repetition is an essential part of the artist’s process. Presented here in the current exhibition is a beautiful suite of paintings, Grapes I, Grapes II and Grapes III - all three paintings are of the same subject, commonly found green grapes sitting stem up in a grocery store container; they are set on a striking turquoise plinth against pale yellow backgrounds. These mostly monochromatic paintings, exhibited together allow the shifts in tonalities and mark-making from painting to painting to serve as a vehicle into a meditative, introspective practice.

Susan Jane Walp graduated from Mount Holyoke College and continued her studies at the New York Studio School, Skowhegan, and the Brooklyn College MFA Program. She has been the recipient of many awards for her work, including a Guggenheim Fellowship.