Cover:
All images courtesy of the artist.
Artist Statement
This portfolio is a manifestation of my here and now filtered through the lens of our dynamic family history as victims of ethnic cleansing in Yugoslavia. My stories are articulated through repurposed historical photos, maps and drawings intricately woven with lacelike brushwork in an interplay between memories, adoration and the imagination. Each study is thoughtfully reworked over the years to build on a larger and growing narrative, lending to outside interpretations steeped in the viewer's own connection. They show authenticity and playful energy through uninhibited mark-making made by children, coupled with motifs informed by my inner circle. This spontaneous dichotomy honors life’s fleeting beauty and hardship as it was and as it is, which is also embodied by my ceramic forms exploring the Japanese technique called kintsugi, or “golden joinery.” It is used to beautify mistakes and embrace the unplanned. Broken vessels fabricated with one intention now fill a new and powerful role in my practice.
Suzanne Zimmerman is a studio artist and National Board Certified teacher with a BFA from the University of Illinois and MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts and Media from Columbia College Chicago. She has exhibited and curated shows at the Flat Iron Arts Building, Riverside Arts Center, Book and Paper Center, Bridgeport Art Center and Side Street Studios in and near Chicago, IL. Suzanne has inspired thousands of young artists to appreciate creativity and the therapeutic aspects of working with clay in hand and imagery on both screens and paper for over two decades dedicated to secondary art education. Last year, her sculpture student was awarded top 50 of 75,000 international juried portfolios within the Advanced Placement Studio Art program. She illustrated the children's book Make Way for Mitchell! A Kindergarten Story, written by Jessie Rouleau, using color to symbolize feelings around the start of a child’s journey into learning, identity, relationships and resilience. These social emotional themes remain the foundation of her pedagogical and creative process.