About

I am interested in exploring the relationship between fantasy and the real and the locations in which these two worlds collide. I am drawn to effigies of the living, uncanny, half-alive objects such as puppets, automata, figures that were made with a specific purpose in mind such as to embody religious beliefs. Being in the presence of something borderline raises questions as to the nature and perception of reality and the nearness of death or absence of reality and possible insanity. Another strand in the work is an attentive watchfulness for meaning, a hermit-like craving for signs. I have long been fascinated by the texts of riddles or questions that have no answers. In recent work the locations in which the organic and the mechanical find an uneasy relationship has been satellite dishes and telecommunications masts. They seem alert to the giving and receiving of information in the air, looking for meaning that has gone astray.

Susan Adams uses a variety of media including painting, printmaking, polychromed wood-carving and video. She has lectured widely and held a number of prestigious Artist in Residency positions including those at Gloucester Cathedral, Millay Colony for the Arts New York, Welsh National Opera, Bardsey Island and Shaftesbury Abbey.

Susan Adams studied painting at Norwich School of Art and the Slade School of Art, going on to study Electronic Arts at Middlesex University. Her work straddles the real and the fantastical, approached with a sense of disquiet and humour.

EDUCATION

2004-2007
Cardiff University
PGCE Post Compulsory Education

1998-2000
Middlesex University
MA Electronic Arts

1990-92
Slade School of Art
Postgraduate Diploma Fine Art, Painting

1986-89
Norwich School of Art
BA Hons Degree Fine Art , Painting, 1st class

1985-86
Maidstone College of Art
Foundation Course in Art & Design

CAREER

2011 onwards – Cardiff Metropolitan University
Associate Tutor, Fine Art

Edinburgh Printmakers
Artist in Residence

Sky Arts
Art Workshop Leader, Hay Festival

2008 – 2009 – Hereford College of Arts
Part-time Lecturer, Fine Art Degree

2007 – Good Ideas Residency
Grant from Cywaith Cymru to finance art project with voice-hearers in Wales

2006 – Benenden School
Artist in Residence

2004 – Creative Wales Award
£10,000 Research Grant

2003 – Shaftesbury Abbey
Artist in Residence

2002-03 – Welsh National Opera
Commission/Residency
working to create images for projection to accompany orchestral performances for schools

2002 – Bardsey Island – Ynys Enlli
Artist in Residence

Aberystwyth Arts Centre
Children’s Art Workshop Leader during
Something Funny in the Woodshed exhibition curated by Susan Adams

Plas Newydd, Llangollen
Artist in Residence

Carmarthenshire College
Part-time Lecturer, Art & Design Access Course

Oriel Mostyn
Artist in Residence

2001-02 – University of Glamorgan
Part-time Lecturer, Art Practice and Media Degree

2001 – Millay Colony for the Arts, New York USA
Artist in Residence

Swansea Institute of Higher Education
Visiting Lecturer, Fine Art, Painting Degree

2000 – Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea
Children’s Art Workshop Leader during Ana Maria Pacheco exhibition

International Centre for Cultural Development, Kerala, India
Artist in Residence

1999-00 – Swansea Institute of Higher Education
Part-time Lecturer,
Foundation Course in Art & Design

1998-99 – University of Glamorgan
Part-time Lecturer, BA Hons Art Practice

1998 – Arts Council of Wales Artist’s Bursary
£2000 Research Grant

1996-97 – Gloucester Cathedral
Artist in Residence

1996 – Arts Council of Wales Travel Award
to study the religious art of Mexico

1995-96 – University of Wales College Newport
Part-time Lecturer, Graphic Arts Degree

1995 – University of the West of England, Bristol University of Glamorgan, Wales
Visiting Lecturer, slide talks, tutorials and materials demonstrations given

1994-95 – Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Colorado, USA
Artist in Residence

1994 – ArtsAcre, Calcutta, India
Artist in Residence

1992-93 – Cheltenham & Gloucester College of Higher Education
Fine Art Fellow, part-time Lecturer Fine Art Painting

1991 – Canadian Airlines & Royal Overseas League
Travel Awards, Canada

EXHIBITIONS

2011 – Import / Export
Edinburgh Printmakers & Swansea Printworkshop

Mostyn Open
Oriel Mostyn

There are Receivers in the Woods
solo exhibition, MoMA Wales

Artemis
group show, St Davids Hall, Cardiff

2010 – St David’s Hall Printmaking Biennale
group show

Eisteddfod Visual Arts Exhibition

Female Wales
Millenium Centre, Cardiff

2009 – Hearing Voices International Congress Maastricht
solo exhibition

Eisteddfod Visual Arts Exhibition

Welsh Artist of the Year Show
St Davids Hall Cardiff

They leak through me
solo exhibition, Oriel Myrddin

2008 – Eisteddfod Visual Arts Exhibition

*Sculpture in the Garden *
group show, Hergest Croft, Herefordshire

2007 – Parc Life
group show, house and grounds of Penpont, Powys

2006 – Contemporary Arts Society Wales
Acquisitions National Museum of Wales

2004 – Fragments of St Iwa
solo exhibition, Arts Council of Wales Gallery, Cardiff

2003 – A tale told by an Idiot
3 person print show – MOMA Wales

Waiting for Something
solo touring exhibition, Ruthin Craft Centre; Oriel Mostyn

Fragments of St Iwa
solo exhibition, Shaftesbury Abbey, Dorset

2002 – Cinema Texas International short film festival
screening of Searching in Sleep

Nestlings
solo exhibition, Plas Newydd, Llangollen

Artists-in-Residence at Gloucester Cathedral
group show, Gloucester Cathedral

Reflections of Holiness
St Mary Woolnoth, London EC3

2001 – Wales : Unauthorised Versions
The House of Croatian Artists, Zagreb (curator: Alex Farquharson)

International Print Biennial
Wrexham Art Centre (& tour)

Something Funny in the Woodshed
(curator & exhibitor)
Howard Gardens Gallery, Cardiff
Aberystwyth Arts Centre

Eisteddfod Art Exhibition

2000 – Digital Group Show
Candid Gallery, London

Exploding Cinema
London, screening of ‘And in the Morning’

1999 – Proposals for Saints (part 3)
solo exhibition, Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea

Housing and Homelessness
Candid Gallery, London (curator: London Arts Cafe)

1998 – Fantastico!
Gallery Fresh, London

Proposals for Saints (part 2)
solo exhibition, The Eich Gallery, Hull

1997 – Breath of Walls
solo exhibition, Gloucester Cathedral

The Print Fair*
The Armory, New York City, USA

Proposals for Saints
solo exhibition, Gloucester City Art Gallery

1996 – Artists’ Books
Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea

The London Original Print Fair*
Royal Academy of Art, London

The 9th International Women’s Studies Conference
2 person show

1995 – Theatre of Love
solo exhibition, Y Bont Gallery, Univ. of Glamorgan

Artists in Residence Show
Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Co. USA

The Print Fair
The Armory, New York City, USA*

1994 – Woodcuts and Paintings
ArtsAcre, Calcutta, India

The Contemporary Print Show Part 2*
Concourse Gallery, Barbican

SAGA, FIAC Edition*
Paris, France

WhiteChapel/East London Open Studios
Childers Street, London

1993 – The London Original Print Fair*
Royal Academy of Art, London

The Arthur Andersen Art Award Exhibition London

Cheltenham School of Art Fellows Exhibition
Pittville Gallery, Cheltenham

The Contemporary Print Show*
Concourse Gallery, Barbican, London

Radhusgalleriet*
Ystd, Sweden, Group Show

Group Show
Flowers Graphics, London

1992 – 3rd Print Biennale of Amadora Portugal*

Artists’ Choice
Flowers East, London

Recent Graduates
Smiths Gallery, Covent Garden, London

1991 – A View of the New
Royal Overseas League, London

*In affiliation with Pratt Contemporary Art