Artist Statement
 
The How, What and Why
 
HOW I MAKE
Drawing is at the core of my practice, whether it be the traditional media of pastel and graphite on paper or the women’s work of stitching with thread.  More often than not, the drawn line accumulates and combines with other media to build larger and larger artworks that occupy three-dimensional space. The resulting installations tell stories that encourage confrontation with images and ideas about identity, age, gender power and memory. I leave the narratives open-ended, allowing the observer to define the ending and ultimately, the meaning.
 
WHAT I MAKE
I make small works and immersive multimedia installations that ask questions and tell multilayered stories about identity, age, gender and power. It is a feminist story that seeks to subvert the marginalization of the voices of women. With broad training in painting, sculpture, textiles, technology and book arts, I have a deep toolkit. Using these media I select images and processes to examine symbolic representations of power and experience: power suits; clothing as communication; vulvas/shells; images and objects constructed using women's traditional media.
 
WHY I MAKE
As a child of the 1950s, when career options were limited and gender identified, I continue to push against glass ceilings, structural impediments and learned behaviors that limit women's accomplishments. ​The feminist lens through which I view the world and make art is supported by research. One research tool I use is crowdsourcing to collect information and content for the artwork.  When I surveyed women across the United States about their experiences in the workplace, for the Jerome Foundation supported project Wearing My Age, I learned that women of all ages still struggle to be heard, respected and paid well, confirming my commitment to a feminist stance.

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BIOGRAPHY

Susan Hensel received her BFA from University of Michigan in 1972 with a double major in painting and sculpture and a concentration in ceramics.
 
With a history, to date, of over 190 exhibitions, 25 of them solo, twenty garnering awards, Hensel's desire to communicate stories through art continues to be a powerful motivator.
 
Hensel's artwork is known and collected nationwide, represented in collecting libraries and museums as disparate as the Museum of Modern Art in New York and The Getty Research Institute with major holdings at Minnesota Center for Book Arts , University of Washington, Baylor University and University of Colorado at Boulder. Archives pertaining to her artists books will be available for study at the University of Washington Libraries in Seattle in 2017.
 
In recent years Hensel has been awarded multiple grants and residencies through the Jerome Foundation, Minnesota State Arts Board, and Ragdale Foundation.
 
Hensel's curatorial work began in 2000 in East Lansing, Michigan with the Art Apartment and deepened with ownership of the Susan Hensel Gallery. Hensel has curated over seventy exhibitions of emerging and mid-career artists from all over the United States and Canada. 

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PRESENTATIONS 

I am available for studio visits, lectures, panel discussions, and other visiting artist activities.

​Previous engagements have included visits to Emory and Henry College, VA; Chadron State College, NE; Alma College,MI; Lansing State Library, MI; East Lansing Library, MI; Minnesota Center for Book Arts, MN;Hollanders, MI; Habitat for Humanity, MN; Las Vegas Civic Center, NV; Weavers Guild of Minnesota.

Curriculum Vitae  See complete resume here

Solo 
2019            I Dwell in Impossibility, Phipps Gallery, Hudson, WI
                     Eros and Thanatos, Seminole State College, Sandford, FL
​2018            Eros and Thanatos, Artspace Gallery, Richmond, VA                    
​2017            Eros And Thanatos, Wiseman Gallery, Rogue Community                                    College, Grants Pass, OR
2016            In Stitches, Corcoran Neighborhood Office, Minneapolis, MN
​                     Power and Transgression, Grainbelt Bottling House,                                            Minneapolis, MN
2015            The Ophelia Project, MacRostie Art Center, Grand Rapids, MN
​                     Inventory Methods, Susan Hensel Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
                     In Stitches, ArtSpace, Lake Nokomis Presbyterian Church,                                  Minneapolis, MN

2014             The Ophelia Project, Riverland Community College, Austin,                                  MN

2011             Color of Conflict, Susan Hensel Gallery, Minneapolis, MN

2008              Just Looking, Susan Hensel Gallery, Minneapolis, MN

2006              Desire, Susan Hensel Gallery, Minneapolis, MN

2005              Assembling Memory, Mott Community College, Flint, MI  
                       Story Driven, Bright Hill Center, Treadwell, NY

2004              Dynamic Storytelling, Lansing, MI

2003               A Way with Words, Las Vegas Civic Center Gallery, Las                                        Vegas, NV
                        A Way with Words, Appalachian Craft Center, TN

2002              Coming Home, Art Apartment, E.Lansing, MI
                       Assembling Memory, Gallery 402, OIA, New York City, NY
                       Assembling Memory, Ella Sharp Museum, Jackson, MI
                       Assembling Memory, St. Clair Comm. College, Port Huron, MI
                       Kristallnacht: the bystanders, The Art Apartment, E.Lansing,                                MI                                    

2000              Surviving to Soar, Creole Gallery, Lansing, MI
                       What if..., The Art Apartment, E.Lansing, MI
                       A Way with Words, Sinclair Community College, Dayton, OH

1999              University Of Bridgeport, Bridgeport, CN
                       Todd Mack Designs, Lansing, MI                         
                       Emory & Henry College, Emory, VA                                                
1998               Literary Sculpture, Rosewood Art Center, Kettering, OH
                        A Way with Words, Chadron State College, Chadron, NE
                        Off the Shelf, Alma College, Alma, MI

1996               Off the Shelf, David Thomas Gallery, Lansing, MI
                        A New Vocabulary, Agnes Gallery, Birmingham, AL

Group Exhibitions
2018            Weaver's guild of MN Instructor shoe, Paradise Center for the                             Arts, Fairbault, MN
                      Common Thread, Textile Center of MN, Minneapolis, MN
                      American Conversations; Eagan Center for Art, Eagan, MN
2017             Zoetic; Robbin Gallery, Robbindale, MN
                      Common Thread; Textile Center of Minnesota, Minneapolis,                                   MN
                       Inauguration: Acts of Resistance, Acts of Kindness; Susan                                    Hensel Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
                       Craft; Red Garage Studio, Minneapolis, MN
                       Needlework: Rethinking Vulnerability and Resistance, Prøve                                   Collective, Duluth, MN
                       Tell Me a Story; Foundry Art Centre; St. Charles, MO
                      The DegeneraTe Show; Red Garage Studio; Minneapolis, MN
                       Crone Culture, Minneapolis, MN
                       Fiber Art VIII, Sebastapol Center for the Arts, Sebastpaol, CA
                       Part of a Whole, Minnesota Center for Book Arts,                                               Minneapolis, MN
                       Real People, Courthouse Figuarative League,Crystal Lake, IL
                       Really Affordable Art, Brooklyn Waterfront Arts Collective,                                    Brooklyn, NY
                        Planned Parenthood Gallery, Colorado Springs, CO
                        No Big Heads, University of Alaska, Ankorage, AK   
                        FASA 43rd Annual Show, San Antonio, TX
                        Anguish and Hope, Vine Art Center, Minneapolis, MN
                        Divergent Offerings, Show Gallery, St. Paul, MN

2016               Au Naturel, Clatsop Community College, Astoria, OR
                        I AM, Altered Esthetics, Minneapolis, MN •featured artist•                                    https://vimeo.com/154816979
                        Transgender Realities, Rogue Community College, Grants                                   Pass, OR
​                        WARM Guerrilas: Feminist Vision, Grainbelt Bottling House,                                 Minneapolis, MN
                        Pastel National 2016, Wichita Center for the Arts, Wichita, KS
                        12th annual Ceres National Juried Show, Ceres Gallery, New                                 York, NY
                        National Juried Exhibition First Street Gallery, New York, NY
                        Art of the Book, Sebastopol  Center for the Arts, Sebastopol,                               CA
                        Fiber Options, Maryland Federsation of Art, Annapolis, MD
                        La Mese delle Donne, Rochester Community College,                                           Rochester, MN
​                        Exposed, The New Bohemian Gallery, Brainerd, MN

2015               Transformation: The Works of Susan Hensel & Janna Rhae                                     Johnson, Hopkins, MN
                        Reinvented Past; 2-person, Banfill Locke Center for the Arts,                                 Fridley, MN
                         WARM Self Protraits at Tractorworks, Gallery One,                                                 Minneapolis,MN
​                        Repetition & Pattern, Frederick Gallery, Fredericksburg, VA
                        Puzzles, Riddles & Enigmas; University of Michigan
                        Sexism, a Touchy Subject; ARC Gallery, San Francisco, CA
                        7th Pollux Award,catalog finalist, London, UK
                        Reimagining Femmage, catalog, Women's Caucus for Art,                                    Foundry Art Centre, St.Charles, MO, catalog
                         Extreme Fibers, catalog ,Muskegon Museum of Art,                                               Muskegon, MI  
                         Extreme Fibers,   Dennos Museum, Traverse City, MI
                         Voices: Women Unite, catalog
                         Common Thread, Textile Center of Minnesota, Minneapolis, 
                         Portals and Passages, Phipps Center for the Arts, WI 
                         IU East Inaugural National Juried Exhibition: Gender,catalog,                                Indiana University East,Richmond, IN
                         Hudson Public Library, Hudson, WI
                         BWAC Wide Open 6, Brooklyn Waterfront Art Coalition,                                       Brooklyn, NY
                         Crotch: Contested Territory, Whitdel Arts, Detroit, MI
                         Inquire Within, St. Catherine University, St. Paul, MN
etc.......
Residencies
                        Ragdale Foundation 2007 & 2009, Lake Forest, IL.
Grants
                        Habitat for Humanity 2013, Partners in Arts Participation,                                    MN State Arts Board
                        Jerome Foundation Project Grant for Textile Art, 2014

Awards
                        Savage Juried Art Competition, Savage Art Center, Savage,                                  MN, 2013.
                        Bright Hill Literary Center, Treadwell NY, 2004.
                        Christian Art Show, 2003.
                        Hope Borbas Library Show, Okemos, MI, 1999, 2000 (Best of                             Show), 2003.
                        Book Explorations 2002, New Art Forum, Kingston, MA,                                        2002.
                        Book Explorations 2001, New Art Forum, Kingston, MA,                                         2001.
                        Jackson Area Show, Ella Sharp Museum, Jackson, MI, 2000.
                        Window Art 2000, Adrian, MI, 2000.
                        Art Michigan, Lansing Art Gallery, Lansing, MI (Best of Show)                               1999.
                        Art and Social Justice, Colfax Cultural Center, South Bend, IN,                           1998.
                        Christian Art Show, Ascension Lutheran Church, E. Lansing,                               MI, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1999,2000, 2002, 2003.
Collections
                        Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
                        Atlanta College Of Art, Atlanta, GA
                        Ascension Lutheran Church, East Lansing, MI 
                        Banff Center, Banff, Alberta, Canada
                        Baylor University, Waco, TX 
                        Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, NY
                        Claremont University, Claremont, CA         
                        Curry Collection, South Lyon, MI           
                        Duke University, Durham, NC
                        The Getty Research Institute, CA
                        John M. Flaxman Library, Chicago, IL
                        Michigan State University, E. Lansing, MI
                        Minnesota Center for Book Art, Minneapolis, MN
                        Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul, MN
                        National Library, London, GB
                        Newberry Library, Chicago, IL 
                        Otis College, CA 
​                        Pratt Institute of Art, Brooklyn, NY         
                        Ruth And Marvin Sackner Archive Of Concrete And Visual                                     Poetry, FL
                        Riddick Collection, Mobile, AL           
                        Ruben Collection, New York, NY
                        Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, GA
                        Toronto Public Library, Toronto, Canada            
                        University of Colorado, Boulder, CO
                        University Of Washington Library, Seattle, WA
                        University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
                        Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA
                        Ward Collection, Ann Arbor, MI
                        Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA            
Publications
                        Zoom In, 10,100 Arts, February - April, 2008.
                        “Artful Change,” Minnesota Women’s Press, 2006.
                        “Exquisite forms,” Star Tribune, January 13, 2005.
                         “Reader’s Art 5: art to be handled,” Corcoran News, April 2005.
etc.....
Teaching
                        Emory and Henry College, Emory, VA
                        Chadron State College, Chadron NE
                        Alma College, Alma MI
                        Lansing State Library, Lansing, MI
                        Minnesota Center for Book Arts, MN
                        Hollanders, Ann Arbor, MI
                        Wyrd Sisters, Okemos, MI
                        Art Continuum, Cleveland, OH
                        Habitat for Humanity, St Paul, MN
                        E. Lansing Library, E. Lansing, MI
                        Las Vegas Civic Center
                        Weavers Guild of Minnesota
            


etc...


 

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