Artist Statement

Sue Grace’s work reflects the dynamic forces of our daily lives—collisions, reversals, and affirmations—expressed through shape, color, and line. Her paintings explore the inner life, through the juxtaposition of biomorphic and geometric forms, the interplay between obstructions and flow, and anatomical shapes inspired by the female body. Marks and layers cross over one another, mimicking the regenerative nature of flesh, bone and skin. She strives to create an interplay between the emotional depth of the inner world and the materiality of paint.

Painting, to Grace, is a puzzle—like the Rubik’s Cube we played with as children—where the rectangular picture plane presents a challenge to manipulate composition, figure, and ground. The aim is to create a dynamic visual language that reflects the improvisations and decisions of the artist at work. She works primarily with traditional paint on various supports, often in series, to fully develop ideas and celebrate a continuous flow of creation.

Her approach is improvisational: she begins with marks, shapes, or color choices, each contributing to an evolving dialogue within the piece. The relationship between figure and ground is central, constantly adjusted in a push and pull heading always towards resolution. Her tools range from brushes and hands to collage materials and drips, all of which bring unique textures and energy to the work.

Bio

Sue Grace is a Brooklyn based painter. She works in traditional materials of oil and water-based paint. She was born in Chicago, Illinois, attended art school in Manhattan and moved with her husband to raise her family in the Washington, D.C. area before moving back to New York City.

Grace has exhibited in notable venues including Hillyer Art Space (Washington, D.C.), McLean Project for the Arts (Virginia), the Workhouse Arts Center (Virginia), Target Gallery (Virginia), The Florence Trust (London, England), Crossroads Gallery (Virginia), and Northern Virginia Community College. In 2020, she was the featured artist for the Georgetown Lombardi Arts and Humanities Program. Recent highlights include exhibiting in the lobby of the Pew Charitable Trust in its DC headquarters and the installation of several permanent building-size murals on the exterior of the historic buildings of the Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton, Virginia. Her work is held in private collections across New York, Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles, California.

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