NARRATIVE PAINTINGS: RURAL VOICES RISING Exhibition opens at the ACWC’s Perry Main St. Gallery, Friday, August 2
Susan Hoffer’s art is a unique lens through which she aims to start a conversation between Perry, Wyoming County, and Adirondack Park communities. The ACWC welcomes this conversation, which will be represented in paintings and process drawings at our Main Street Gallery in Perry. These paintings convey the various experiences and perspectives of Susan’s neighbors, family, and friends in Adirondack Park relative to weighty contemporary issues. Susan believes the ACWC’s gallery space is a good match for the dialog she hopes to generate, and the ACWC is pleased to help facilitate this conversation through the Narrative Paintings: Rural Voices Rising exhibition.
“The human figure has always been deeply a part of my work,” states Hoffer in her Statement of Purpose, “…for to me, the experience of being present while with others is as ordinary and extraordinary as breathing. When I moved to the Adirondack Park in rural upstate NY, my relationship with the painted figure became integral to adjusting to my new surroundings. Historically, rural identity has been portrayed as having certain characteristics, but by capturing real conversations with real people in real time, I began to understand shared experience that both transcended demographics and challenged cultural perceptions.” Hoffer began her extensive career studying at Molloy University in Rockville Centre, NY, receiving a BS in Arts and Education. Her studies continued with further graduate coursework in painting, drawing, printmaking and ceramics. She received an MFA in Painting from Northern Vermont University (Johnson State Campus) in 2006.
She has had solo exhibitions across New York state, including at the Schweinfurth Art Center in Auburn; View Center for Arts and Culture in Old Forge (both in 2023) North Country Arts in Glens Falls; Widlund Gallery, North Creek (both in 2022); Painted Stories at Lake George Arts Project in 2021, and more, as well as in Vermont. She has participated in group shows since 1996, both in New York, the U.S., and internationally. Hoffer has received many awards, including the two most recent Best in Show awards in the North Country Arts Juried Invitational in Glens Falls in 2022, and MADE IN NY 2022 at the Schweinfurth Art Center. She has several residencies, grants, commissions, and representations in private collections. She has published articles and features in Artists’ Talks which can be viewed on YouTube.
Please visit susanhofferart.com to learn more about Susan’s many accomplishments, and distinguished career as an artist and art educator. The ACWC invites the public to meet Susan during the exhibition’s opening reception and artist talk on Friday, August 2, at 6:30 PM. This event is free, but the experience will be invaluable.