Susan Richardson

I’m Susan Richardson and perhaps like you, I’ve worn many hats — mother, daughter, sister, grandma, artist, friend, worker, and spiritual seeker. I’ve spent most of my life seeking to reconcile the inner search for a deeper meaning and the desire to find success and recognition in the social world we all live in. On that journey I’ve had highs and lows. Joy and tears. I’ve spent a lifetime making art that tells that story.

I use layers of paint, text, and hand lettering to represent the journey of our lives. I add layers and peel them back to reveal buried ones. It’s bold and strong as well as delicate and ephemeral. That’s life. Amidst all these layers of old and new, inner and outer, we can create a gorgeous harmony. Each of my pieces expresses this interplay of inner and outer, past and present — like a wall that has witnessed wars, parades, graffiti and layers of posters that become tattered and papered over. It all tells the story of a time and a place. I hope that when you see my work, you experience that deep connection that makes you feel the beauty, the magic and the mystery.

The Facts:
Post Baccalaureate Certificate in Visual Art, U.C. Berkeley Extension, Berkeley, CA
Ph.D. U.C. Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
M.A. English Education, Boise State University, Boise, ID
B.A. English Education, Simmons University, Boston, MA
Art Studies at numerous universities, art societies and workshops

Born and raised in New York, currently living in the Bay Area, Susan Richardson creates mixed media works that reflect her changing physical, political, and interior landscapes. She has studied art, calligraphy, and lettering at universities and in workshops throughout the U.S., Italy and Japan. Since 2005, Richardson has exhibited extensively, winning many juried awards. Richardson’s artwork has been published in books and several journals, including juried issues of Letter Arts Review. In 2009, she published a series of three artist's books entitled — What do you think? Books 1, 2, and 3. In 2014, she published a book called Wing Biographies with photos of her three dimensional mobile project called Take these Broken Wings. A poem accompanies each photo of a handmade set of wings. In 2012, her mixed-media piece, I am, received the City of Tracy Purchase Award. In 2017, her piece, On the Ferris Wheel, was awarded B...

2020
• The Places We'll Go - Group Exhibit (juried), The White Room Gallery, Bridgehampton, NY
• Expressions! Exhibit, Tracy, CA
• Expressions Selections, Grand Theatre Center for the Arts, Tracy, CA

2019
• Whispered Conversations - One person exhibit at the Matthews Gallery at the Grand Théâtre Center for thé Arts
• New Currencies - Group exhibit at JPG@ The Bank

2018
• Small Things group exhibit at Jennifer Perlmutter Gallery, Lafayette, CA, November-December
• Enchanted Conversations and Broken Dreams, one person exhibit at Art Ventures Gallery, Menlo Park, August 15 – October 4
• Kalligraphia, group exhibit at San Francisco Public Library, main branch, June-September, 2018
• Letter Arts Review 32:2, 8-page feature article in Fall/Summer issue
• Gallery One spring exhibit, Petaluma, CA
• Expressions, Tracy Community Center, Tracy, CA (juried exhibition)
• Expressions Selections, Grand Theatre Center for the Arts, Tracy, CA (juried exhibition)
•Matthews Gallery at The Grand Theatre Center for the Arts, Tracy, CA (curated exhibit)