Suzanne Kane
Artist Statement
I seem to be forever surrounded by engineers. I’ve ended up with a father, three brothers, a sister, and a husband that are connected with that field. In a world like theirs math and schematics are highly valued and there is an unwavering faith that there will be a single correct answer to every problem.
I have never felt comfortable with these dictates and was relieved to find alternative systems of learning, growing, and valuing intelligence. Central to my own in my work by layering textures, adding moving parts, jig sawing complicated puzzle pieces, and folding the whole compulsive system into a box. The irony of my story is that I am very much an engineer in ceramics. I value the challenge of craftsmanship and building and am very curious about construction solutions.
The sculptural folding boxes are prime examples of this expression concerning learning and knowledge. Balls and abacus-type structures stand in for counting, ordering, and enclosed systems of logic. In most of my work I’ve enjoyed the layering of texture, script and glazes to create an abstract surface filled with multiple associations. By adding the balls that fall into slots, pinwheels that spin with a whistle of wind and panels that hinge open and closed I’m courting others’ needs to touch, and call out to my viewers to share my compulsions and experience the physicality of these objects.
This work is formed using slab earthenware and finished with several layers of underglazes and stains and glazes. Often a piece is fired up to six times. The panels are hollow construction and all the hinges are sleeved with metal tubing and the feet are capped in flocking for softer contact with surface.
Resume
Education:
1998 Master’s of Fine Art, ceramics, New Mexico State University,
Las Cruces, NM
1980 Bachelor’s of Fine Art, Honors College, sculpture,
visual arts education minor, Michigan State University, E. Lansing,
Employment:
2008-2009 Workshop leader for The Potters’ Guild, Ann Arbor,
MI, also, The Potters’Guild of Las Cruces
2001-Now Part time ceramics instructor, New Mexico State University,
Las Cruces, NM.
1998-Now Studio Artist
1989-1998 Owner/ Operator of “Clay Works”, production of functional
ceramic sculpture.
1980-1989: Art Instructor, K-12 Cherry Creek Schools, Colorado.
Honors:
Juror’s Award, for “The Desk Where I Work,” 2008 International Orton Cone Box,
Baker University, Baldwin City, KA.
Third Place Award, for “Tasks of Learning,” Feats of Clay 2006, Lincoln Arts,
Lincoln, CA.
Purchase Award, for “Soliloquy,” 2006 International Orton Cone Box, Baker
University, Baldwin City, KA.
The Charles and Roene Hazen Memorial Award of Excellence, for “Sliced
Apples” 2004 Starbrick National, Starbrick Clay, Nelsonville, OH
Purchase Award, for “Swirl,” 2003 Clay: Making Connections,
Roswell Museum of Art, Roswell, NM.
Purchase Award, for “Apples,” 2002 International Orton Cone Box, Baker
University, Baldwin City, KA.
Best of Show, for “Capricious Domain,” From the Ground Up XIX, 2000,
Branigan Cultural Center, Las Cruces, NM.
First Place Merit Award, for “Dream Houses,” New Mexico Clay 2000,
Harwood Art Center,Albuquerque, NM.
Best of Show, for “Carriage,” New Mexico Clay 99, Santa Fe Clay, Santa Fe, NM.
First Place Graduate Symposium Award, Master’s Thesis Exhibition,
Williams Hall Gallery, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM.
One, Two and Three Person Exhibitions:
2009 Contemplation, Suzanne Kane, and Amanda Jaffe at Plinth Gallery,
Denver, CO.
2008 Suzanne Kane, Marilyn Conway, Lauren Tobey, exhibition of ceramics,
and photography, Mariposa Gallery, Albuquerque, NM.
Bold Statement: the Ceramic Sculpture of Suzanne Kane and Painting
by Jo-an Smith, Cutter’s Gallery of Fine Art, Las Cruces, NM.
2006 Springboard Artfest, Suzanne Kane and Cecilia Thorner, Cutter’s
Gallery, Las Cruces, NM
2005 Containers New and Old, ceramic sculpture of Suzanne Kane, El Paso
Arts and Culture Windows Gallery, The El Paso International Airport,
El Paso, TX.
2004 Recent Works by Stacey Crawford, Suzanne Kane, Elaine Johnson,
El Paso Civic Center Gallery, El Paso, TX. New Works, Suzanne
Kane, and Belinda Flores-Shinshillas, JME Studio, Las Cruces, NM.
2003 Between the Spaces, Suzanne Kane and Tauna Cole at The Las Cruces
Museum of Fine Art, Las Cruces, NM
2002 Of Object and Spirit, Tauna Cole and Suzanne Kane, JME Studio,
Las Cruces, NM.
1999 Subject/Object, ceramic sculpture of Suzanne Kane, Macomb Center
for the Performing Arts, Clinton Township, MI
Selected Exhibitions:
2009
Faculty Exhibition 2009, Williams Art Gallery, NMSU, Las Cruces, NM
2008
Hot Tea!, del Mano Gallery, invitational, Los Angeles, CA.
Viewpoint: Ceramics, juried national, Grossmont College, El Cajon, CA
2008 International Orton Cone Box, juried, Baker University, Baldwin
City, KA.
Chirp, Mariposa Gallery, invitational, Albuquerque, NM
Painting Across Borders, invitational, The Mexican Consulate, El Paso,
TX.
2007
The Ecstatic Skin of the Earth, national juried, Xiem Clay Center,
Pasadena, CA
From the Ground Up XXIII, juried, The Las Cruces
Museum of Art, Las Cruces, NM
2006
International Orton Cone Box Show, NCECA, Portland, OR
and Baker University, Baldwin City, KA juried.
Feats of Clay 2006, Lincoln Arts, Lincoln, CA, juried.
2005
It’s Only Clay, Bemidji Arts Council, Bemidji, MN, juried.
Biennial Faculty Exhibition, Williams Hall, New Mexico State University,
Las Cruces, NM, invitational. Originals 2005, The Museum of Fine Arts,
Santa Fe, NM, invitational.
2004
Hot Tea!, del Mano Gallery, invitational, Los Angeles, CA.
International Orton Cone Box Show 2004, Baldwin City, KA, juried.
Starbrick National, Starbrick Clay, Nelsonville, OH, juried.
So Q, Museum of Fine Arts, Santa Fe, NM, invitational.
2003
Clay: Making Connections, Roswell Museum of Art, Roswell, juried.
NMSU Biennial Art Faculty Show, Williams Hall Gallery, Las Cruces, NM,
invitational.
2002
International Orton Cone Box Show 2002, Baldwin City, KA, juried.
La Petite X, Alder Gallery, Coburg, Oregon, juried.
Hot Tea!, del Mano Gallery, invitational, Los Angeles, CA.
2001
The Wichita National 2001, Wichita Center for the Arts, Wichita, KA,
juried.
Governor’s Invitational, The Governor’s Gallery, The New Mexico
State Capitol, Santa Fe, NM.
Made In Clay, Patina Gallery, Santa Fe, NM, invitational.
2000
The House Form: A Universal Symbol, Torpedo Factory Art Center,
Alexandria, VA. New Mexico Clay 2000, Harwood Art Center,
Albuquerque, NM, juried. From the Ground Up XIX, Branigan Cultural
Center, Las Cruces, NM, invitational.
1999
101 Cups, The Karen Ruhlen Gallery, Santa Fe, NM, invitational.
Woman Artists from the Land of Enchantment, New Mexico Committee
of the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Lew Alan Gallery,
Santa Fe, NM, juried. New Mexico Clay 1999, Harwood Art Center,
Albuquerque, NM, juried.
1998
Masters Thesis Exhibition, Williams Hall Gallery, NMSU,
Las Cruces, NM.
Collections:
The Albuquerque Museum, Albuquerque, NM
The New Mexico State Capitol Art Collection, Santa Fe, NM
The City of Littleton Municipal Art Collections, Littleton, Colorado
Las Cruces Museum of Fine Art and Culture, Branigan Cultural Center, Las Cruces, NM
Publications:
Ceramics Technical, volume 21, November 2005, “The Cultivated Ceramics
of Amanda Jaffe,” written by Suzanne Kane.
Clay Times, May/June 2003, “The Gallery.”
Ceramics Monthly, June, 2003, “Upfront: Suzanne Kane.”
Ceramics Monthly, January 2001, “Suzanne Kane, Clay and Metal,”
by Richard Garriot Stejskal.
Ceramics Monthly, November 1999, “Up Front.”
Activities:
Graduate Committee, Jose Avelos, New Mexico State University,2009
The Border Artists, an artists’ group committed to community outreach,
Secretary, 2006-2009
The Branigan Cultural Center Foundation, board member, 1999-2002
The Potter’s Guild of Las Cruces, board member, 1998-2002
*Bella Vista Art Gallery exclusively represents Suzanne Kane’s art in North Carolina
