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July Issue 2006
Sumter Gallery of Art in Sumter, SC, Features Works by Susan Lenz
The Sumter Gallery of Art in Sumter, SC, will present Chapel in Blues, Solo Exhibition by Susan Lenz, on view from July 5 - 30, 2006.
The online site (www.thefreedictionary.com) describes the Blues as: A style of music evolved from southern African-American secular songs and usually distinguished by a syncopated 4/4 rhythm, flatted thirds and sevenths, a 12-bar structure, and lyrics in a three-line stanza in which the second line repeats the first. BB King says, "The blues is an expression of anger against shame and humiliation."
Early female Blues singers lived in a male dominated society, in a segregated country, and worked in an industry that took advantage of their lack of education and opportunity. Physical abuse, drug and alcohol dependence, and poverty plagued most. These women struggled, made sacrifices, and sang of their woes. They helped change the world for today's young, black, female vocalists. Blues Chapel is an installation inviting visitors to reflect on the music, lives, and the changes brought about by these pioneering vocalists.
The focal point of the
installation is a unit of twenty-four portraits called Tapestry
in Blue. Each singer is depicted with a gilded halo and most
are embellished with buttons, beads, found objects, and acrylic
paint. Among those pictured are Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, Billie
Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Washington, Nina
Simone and Koko Taylor. Images include reverse glass painted names.
Blues music adds atmosphere to the exhibit. The work can be enjoyed
while sitting on three mahogany church pews and reading a faux-service
bulletin or using the summer fans.
Other exhibited work includes hand and machine embroidery based on Gothic and Romanesque architecture, mixed media triptychs, and an altar addressing personal and societal forgiveness.
Lenz graduated from Ohio State University in 1980 with a BA in Medieval and Renaissance Studies. She began to embroider in 1986 and studied under British fiber artists Valerie Campbell-Harding, Jean Littlejohn and Jan Beaney. She is listed on the South Carolina Arts Commission roster of approved artists. She is represented by the Artisan Center at the Sumter Gallery of Art, Sumter, SC; the South Carolina Artisan Center in Walterboro, SC; Red Tree Gallery in Winnsboro, SC; and The Mouse House, Columbia, SC. Lenz's work has been exhibited throughout the United States, winning numerous awards and accolades.
For further information check our SC Institutional Gallery listings, call the Gallery at 803//775-0543 or e-mail at (info@sumtergallery.com).
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