Land and Sea by Susie Ganch

Artist list

Susie Ganch

Susie Ganch’s primary source material is trash, both as physical object—overflowing accumulations of used coffee lids, plastic bags, and unwanted debris—and as conceptual vehicle to investigate our collective habits of consumption. Ganch’s studio practice is tangibly connected to the world outside her studio, the world of “stuff” we all share and the debris of everyday life we all have in common.

Evolving from the intimate scale of personal adornment to large-scale constructions, Ganch’s work no longer relies on a single wearer to complete the idea. Rather, her pieces offer the viewer a tactile experience—a chance to see, feel, and imagine the very systems that shape and organize each piece. Ganch utilizes her background as a jeweler to craft precise, intricate structural systems that absorb and engulf the viewer into them. Ganch creates forms that are structurally strong yet visually delicate; constructions that appear fragile and tenuous are supported by steel structures and held together by tension and even rivets, mimicking suspension bridge systems. Just as we as humans and the environment we inhabit is constructed of layer upon layer of interconnecting and overlapping webs, systems that balance and support each other, Ganch’s work relies on the same reciprocal dynamic—each part, each link or element of trash needs the neighboring one for the overall sculpture to maintain its balance and hold together its form.

About Susie Ganch
Susie Ganch (b. 1971) is an artist currently living in Richmond, VA. She received her BS and MFA from University of Wisconsin-Madison. Ganch is currently Associate Professor and Head of the Metal Program for the Department of Craft and Material Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University. She is also the Director of Radical Jewelry Makeover, an international jewelry mining and recycling project that travels throughout the United States and abroad. A 2015 recipient of the Peter S. Reed Foundation Grant, Ganch’s work is featured in the 2015 exhibitions Material Fix (Kohler Art Center, Sheboygan WI), RUBBISH (Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee WI), and CRAFTED: Objects in Flux (Museum of Fine Arts Boston, MA). Her work has been acquired by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and her 2014 exhibition TIED (Visual Arts Center of Richmond, VA) was chosen as an Art ForumCritics’ Pick. Ganch has exhibited both nationally and internationally in such shows as Unexpected Pleasures (Design Museum, London, England, and the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia), Heat Exchange (Shemer Art Center and Museum, Phoenix, AZ, and Kunstmuseen der Stadt Erfurt, Galerie Waidspeicher im Kulturhof Krönbacken, Erfurt, Germany), Surface and Substance (Contemporary Applied Arts and Electrum Gallery, London, England and Ruthin Craft Centre, Wales), and Evolution and Imagination (Cameron Museum, NC).

Artist talk: Saturday, July 25, 4:30-5pm.
Reception: Saturday, July 25, 5-7pm.