Originally from the midwest, Susan Stover received a BFA from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and her MFA from California College of Art in Oakland, CA. Both degrees concentrated in textiles and painting. Susan has been on the faculty of University of California - Davis, staff at California College of Art, and worked for 10 years with Jacquard Products, a textile paint and dye manufacturer. She has taught extensively including workshops in Australia, India, Italy, France, Mexico and throughout the U.S.
Susan has recently relocated from the northern California wine country to the Hudson Valley in New York. She is represented by Carrie Haddad Gallery in Hudson, NY and Cura Contemporary in Morgan Hill, CA.
Statement
Originating from a deep interest in textile structures, my work is fundamentally influenced by the grid and its role as the basis of decorative pattern and geometric construction. Embracing the meditative act of repetitive labor, I intuitively build both 2D and 3D structures using materials such as wood, cardboard, paint, and thread. Through the rigorous hand-stitching of individual elements, I create compositions where each piece interacts with the others, gradually forming a complex whole. This process not only reflects the precision and patience inherent in textile traditions, but also allows for a tactile exploration of space, form, and structure. Like assembling pieces of a puzzle, each component is contingent on the previous placed piece, with the final form gradually revealing itself through the process. The resulting work, which may evoke the patterns of quilts, maps, or networks, challenges traditional categorizations and blurs the boundaries between painting, textiles, and sculpture. This fluidity allows the work to transcend conventional mediums, inviting a more expansive interpretation of materiality, structure, and visual language.
In addition to building structured compositions, I also explore distortions of the grid in drawing, allowing the framework to take alternate forms. These distortions introduce an interplay between order and chaos, revealing new possibilities for form and space. This tension between the grid’s foundational stability and its manipulated variations becomes a key element in my work
The grid serves as both a structural framework and a source of infinite variation. Throughout history, the grid has been central to the creation of textiles. The patterns created not only organize space but also serve as expressions of cultural meaning and symbolism. The grid also has a rich history in fine art, where it has been employed not just as a structural tool, but as a means of exploring space, proportion, and abstraction. My work draws on this duality—acknowledging the grid’s historical and cultural legacies while also pushing its potential for new, contemporary interpretations.