Susan Else Sculpture

Susan Else creates sculpture out of collaged and quilted cloth, capturing the gamut of human emotions, routines, dreams, and realities in her work.

I am a figurative sculptor working in sewn cloth. I am interested in daily life and its instant mutability, and my best work merges conflicting human impulses into a single image. I describe my work as "stealth art": the comfortable ambiance of the medium draws viewers in, where they are confronted with the uncomfortable paradoxes of contemporary life. The power and beauty of the collaged and quilted surface play off the narrative content of the work, resulting in a seesaw of meanings and possibilities.

Throughout my career, I have focused on the intersection of disaster and routine. My work has often incorporated bones, a powerful symbol evoking both human mortality and human history. Bones can also be gestural, animating the inanimate. Another body of work uses mechanized cloth sculptures to explore the contradictions of the old-fashioned circus and sideshow, from the commercialization of "freaks" to the celebration of human prowess. My most recent series, Still Kicking, examines the grit and determination needed to remain engaged in the world in the face of old age and disability. Throughout, I have occupied a space between poles, never settling into a single facet of human complexity. I want to show all of it at once.

I started this work in 1998, when I added 3D elements to a flat art quilt. I have shown nationally and internationally since then. My work is in public and private collections, and I have completed many commissioned pieces.