SUSAN RICHMAN
“The emotional appeal of water in my work underpins my series titled Confluence. Life cannot exist without water. It provides sustenance to every ecosystem and civilization, and all living organisms need it to grow and survive. Its currents flow through myths, metaphors, and rituals often associated with the ability to wash away our sins and to start anew. Universally, water is also the symbol of change. It’s flow always finds its way around obstacles adapting itself to its environment as it runs around and over objects.”
Susan Richman is a photographic artist living in NY. Her interests lie in exploring the link between existence, decay, and loss by photographing images that capture and preserve the fleeting nature of our world. She is best known for her use of light, color and shapes to create images that blur the lines between painting and photography.
“A confluence occurs when two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single waterway. It is a metaphor for merging the two historic practices, Gyotaku and Cyanotype that I use to create my images. Gyotaku, a form of nature printing, uses the subjects as printing plates. Often created with squid or sumi ink and washi paper. Anna Adkins, a biologist from England, used cyanotypes, as photographic illustrations to record algae and fauna..... The gyotaku prints in my series are figurative in nature, but when combined with cyanotype the images become untethered. Intrinsically experimental, wet cyanotypes are unpredictable. The finished images are the results of both practice, persistence, and happy accidents. ”
These melting pot of cosmovision is reflected in her work process through elements and symbolism, also with the diverse use of materials in her work. The image is treated with different materials, which gives an extended variety of sensorial stimuli such as oil, encaustic, pastel, and charcoal.
Her work has participated in several collective exhibitions in Mexico, Spain, and Italy.
Susan Richman, Three Branzino Diptych