Susan Grabel
Website: SusanGrabel.com
STATEMENT
I am a feminist, figurative, multimedia artist. My work deals with the human dimensions of social issues. I take to heart Alice Walker’s statement that “Activism is my rent for living on this planet.”
My work has evolved over the years from clay urban vignettes which developed into clay and wood installations addressing social concerns. I later created handmade paper sculptures and collagraph prints focusing on aging women’s bodies. In 2015, working with Staten Island MakerSpace, I digitally translated my Confluence series – visions for a better world – into large-scale wood constructions using a laser cutter and CNC router, and then combining digitally cut wood with cast paper sculpture in my pandemic Reflections series.
After the death of my husband of fifty-four years, George Rappaport, in May 2024. the cast paper and molded cardboard portraits shown in my last exhibition, Reflections, have morphed into meditations on loss and grief. Faces hide, fragment, protrude, or recede—embodying the disorientation, instability, and vertigo of mourning.
Contact Information:
Email: grabelsusan@gmail.com
Website: SusanGrable.com
Selected Solo Exhibitions:
| 2026 | Lost My Husband/ Can’t Lose My Country, Ceres Gallery, New York, NY |
| 2023 | Reflections, Ceres Gallery, New York, NY |
| 2021 | Homeless in the Land of Plenty – Redux, Ceres Gallery, New York, NY |
| 2019 | Forward Together, Ceres Gallery, New York, NY |
| 2017 | Confluence: A Way Forward, Artspace@Staten Island Arts, Staten Island, NY |
| 2016 | Confluence: The Way Forward,Ceres Gallery, New York, NY |
| 2015 | The Venus Cycle,Gallery 66, Cold Spring, NY |
| 2014 | Faces of Alienation,Georgia College Museum, Georgia College, Milledgeville, GA |
| 2013 | The Venus Cycle,MSB Gallery, NYU Langone Medical Center, New York, NY Venus Comes of Age,Ceres Gallery, New York, NY |
| 2012 | Constructions of Conscience: The Social Art of Susan Grabel,Staten Island Museum, Staten Island, NY |
| 2006 | Venus Emerging, Soho20 Chelsea Gallery, New York, NY |
| 2005 | Re-Printing Venus (in collaboration with Jenny Tango), Vlepo Gallery, Staten Island, NY |
| 2004 | Earth Venus: Sculpture to Collagraph, Art Lab Gallery, Staten IIsland, NY |
| 2003 | Venus Pinups (in collaboration with Jenny Tango), Williamsburg Art Nexus, Brooklyn, NY |
| 2001 | Project Venus: Reinventing Venus (in collaboration with Jenny Tango), The Elizabeth Foundation, New York, NY |
| 2000 | Reinventing Venus (in collaboration with Jenny Tango), Wagner College Gallery, Staten Island, NY |
| 1993 | Among the Shadows, Prince Street Gallery, New York, NY |
| 1990 | Susan Grabel, Wagner College Gallery, Staten Island, NY |
| 1989 | Homeless in the Land of Plenty, Prince Street Gallery, New York, NY |
Commissions and Public Works:
2018 Gateway to MakerPark, Steel entranceway to Maker Park, Staten Island, NY; 1996 Regarding Women, sculpture in lobby of the Center for Women’s Health at SIUH, Staten Island, NY; 1991 The World’s Kitchen, ceramic mural commissioned by the Staten Island Children’s Museum, Staten Island, NY
Selected Grants:
2020 DCA Art Fund Grant, 2012 JP Morgan Chase/ Staten Island Arts Arts in our Communities Grant; 2007 COAHSI Excellence in Art Award; 2004 COAHSI Original Works Grant; 2000COAHSI Encore Grant; 1996 Snug Harbor Cultural Arts NYSCA Grant; 1995 Staten Island Greater New York Arts Development Fund Regrant Award from COAHSI
Awards:
2019 ACI Residency, Corciano, Italy, 2007 Jentel Artist Residency Fellowship in Banner,
Collections:
American Museum of Ceramic Art, Pomona, CA, Bates College Museum of Art, Lewiston, ME, Canton Museum of Art, Canton, Ohio, Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA, David Owsley Museum of Art at Ball State University, Muncie, IN, Figge Art Museum, Davenport, Iowa, Fleming Museum of Art at University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, Holy Cross Medical Center, Taos, NM, Judson Memorial Church, New York, NY, Kruizenga Art Museum at Hope College, Holland MI, Lawrence Community Works, Lawrence, MA, Mattatuck Museum, Waterbury, CT, NMSU Art Museum at New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM, RISD Museum of Art, Providence, RI, Ross Art Museum at Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, OH, Rowan University Museum of Contemporary Art, Glassboro, NJ, Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art at SUNY, New Paltz, NY, San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, San Angelo, TX, Staten Island Museum, Staten Island, NY
Selected Group Exhibitions:
| 2025 | Art & Activism from the CMA Collection, Canton Museum of Art, Canton, OH Perfectly Imperfect: The Flawed Beauty of the Human Form, WomensWork.Art at the Cunneen Hackett Art Center, Poughkeepsie, NY | |
| 2023 | Looking Forward Looking Back, Rowan University Art Gallery, Glasboro, NJ | |
| 2022 | Wood and Paper, Williamsburg Art and Historical Center, Brooklyn, NY The Difference We’ve Made, Carter Burden Gallery, New York, NY Yes, And.. Staten Island Museum, Staten Island, NY, Impact 2022, Art That Bears Witness, Bethany Arts Community, Ossining, NY | |
| 2021 | 140 Objects: An Anniversary Exhibition, Staten Island Museum, Staten Island, NY, Don’t Shut Up 2021, Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art, Staten Island, NY | |
| 2020 | ArtRage Past & Present: A Virtual Exhibition, ArtRage Gallery, Syracuse, NY Art from the Boros VII, Denise Bibro Fine Art, New York, NY | |
| 2019 | Relative Relations, Dr. Bernard Heller Museum, Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion, New York, NY Birthday Suit, Site:Brooklyn, Brooklyn, NY Parent Portraits, Westbeth Gallery, New York, NY | |
| 2018 | This Isn’t for You, CP Project Space, School of Visual Arts, New York, NY Art of the 5: Revisiting Staten Island, Snug Harbor Commons Galleries at the Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art, Staten Island, NY | |
| 2017 | Art of the 5: Staten Island, Galleries at The Interchurch Center , New York, NY Home(less), Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion Museum, New York, NY 3rd Annual Hand-Pulled Prints: The Current Practice in Printmaking, Site:Brooklyn Gallery,B Brooklyn, NY Women Under Siege: It’s Happening Right Here, Ceres Gallery, NY | |
| 2016 | Print Matters/Printing Matters, Carnegie Center for Art and History, New Albany, IN | |
| 2015 | Speaking Volumes…. & Voids, Sculptor’s Alliance,Governor’s Island, New York, NY Art of Healing, Blue Door Gallery, Yonkers, NY | |
| 2014 | Brains, Boobs & Backbones: Women Artists/Women’s Issues, Paramount Hudson Valley Theater, Peekskill, NY Artists in the Archives: The Alternet, Cohen Library Archives, CUNY, NY Ceres@30, Ceres Gallery, New York, NY | |
| 2013 | Women Look at Women, Staten Island LGBT Community Center, Staten Island, NY Meet My Uterus, Ceres Gallery, New York, NY | |
| 2012 | Inside/Outside, Ceres Gallery, New York, NY | |
| 2011 | 100 Years of Women Rockin’ the World, ArtRage Gallery, Syracuse, NY Paperworks 2011, Arthaus Gallery, Staten Island, NY | |
| 2010 | Chautauqua: A Continuum of Creativity, Denise Bibro Gallery, New York, NY Prince Street Gallery 40th Anniversary Exhibition, Prince St Gallery, New York, NY | |
| 2009 | HUGEunHUGE , Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art, Staten Island, NY Better Than Ever, Salena Gallery, Long Island University, Brooklyn, NY; Dishman Art Museum, Beaumont, TX; Rowan University Art Gallery, Glassboro, NJ | |
| 2008 | Exposure 2, Ceres Gallery, New York, NY Tending To One Place, Heritage Hjemkomst Center, Fargo, ND Fabulous Fiber, Monmouth Museum, Lincroft, NJ W.O.M.A.N., Gallery 6, Staten Island, NY | |
| 2007 | The Collagraph Circle at Gallery 6, Gallery 6, Staten Island, NY A Place at the Table at the 440, Gallery, Brooklyn, NY | |
| 2006 | 25th Anniversary Friends of Dard Hunter, Canal Warehouse, Chillicothe, OH | |
| 2005 | Friends of Dard Hunter – 2005, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT Sculpture New Hope 2005, New Hope Arts, New Hope, PA Fifty Eighth National Open Print Exhibition, American Color Print Society, Cheltenham Art Center, Cheltenham, PA Nude International 2005, Lexington Art League, Lexington, KY | |
| 2004 | Women in the Middle, Union Art Gallery, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI | |
| 2003 | Ceres at 20: Birthday Duet, Ceres Gallery, New York, NY | |
| 2002 | Tiles in America, Laramie County Community College, Cheyenne, WY | |
| 2001 | Straight from the Arts: Staten Island Artists Respond to the Attack on America, Art Lab Gallery, Staten Island, NY BiFocal,The Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art, Snug Harbor, SI, NY | |
| 2000 | 7 Representational Artists Approaches Using Paper, Soho20 Gallery, New York, NY Space Shaping Space,Phoenix Gallery, New York, NY | |
| 1999 | Women’s Work: What We Do, Art Lab Gallery, Snug Harbor Cultural Center, Staten Island, NY | |
| 1998 | Diverse Origens, Core New Art Space, Denver, CO | |
| 1997 | Death, Dying and Mourning, Ceres, New York, NY | |
| 1996 | Pulse Points, University Lutheran Church, Cambridge, MA Jewish Women Uncensored, Cragin Fife Gallery, Brookline, MA Reality Check: Cultural Questions and Political Commentaries, Sylvia White Gallery, New York, NY | |
| 1995 | In Three Dimensions: Women Sculptors of the ’90s, curated by Charlotte Streifer Rubinstein, Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art at Snug Harbor Cultural Center, Staten Island, NY Community for the Homeless, Broadway Gallery, Albany, NY Buoys: Marking the Place, Art Initiatives Renegade Space, New York, NY Reflections of our Jewish Identity, Univ. of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, TX | |
| 1994 | Point of View, Owen Patrick Gallery, Philadelphia, PA Doubly Talented, Krasdale Foods Art Gallery, Bronx, NY | |
| 1993 | Clay on the Wall, The Eastern Washington University Art Gallery, Cheney, WA Family Ties, Krasdale Foods Art Gallery, White Plains, NY | |
| 1992 | Women: Diversity & Vision,The Art Lab Gallery, Snug Harbor Cultural Ctr, SI, NY | |
| 1991 | Giving Shelter, The BAUhouse, Baltimore, MD | |
| 1990 | Women in the Visual Arts 1990, Erector Sq Gallery, New Haven, CT | |
| 1989 | Witness of the Time, Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts, Grand Rapids, MI Clayworks, QCC Gallery of Queensborough Community College, Bayside, NY | |
| 1987 | Festivities of the Tree,, Garden Cottage at Snug Harbor Cultural Center, SI, NY | |
| 1986 | The Contemporary Woman in Art, WARM Gallery, Minneapolis, MN | |
| 1984 | Artists Choice Museum: The First Eight Years, Artists Choice Museum, New York, NY Portraits: Form and Concept, First Women’s Bank, New York, NY | |
| 1981 | 2 Sculpture of the 70’s: the Figure, Pratt Institute Gallery – Manhattan Center, Arkansas Arts Center, University of Oklahoma at Norman, Arizona State University at Tempe, Dartmouth College Museum |
Curatorial Projects:
| 1977 | Spaces and Places ‑ Small Scale Sculptured Environments, Prince St Gallery, New York, NY |
| 2017 | Women Under Siege: It’s Happening Right Here, Ceres Gallery, New York, NY |
| 2021 | Don’t Shut Up 2021, Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art, Staten Island, NY |
| 2022 | The Difference We’ve Made: Women Artists Active In NYC In The 1970’s And Still Making Art, Carter Burden Gallery, New York, NY |
Selected Reviews and Articles:
| Fressola, Michael, The Confluence of Art and Location, Staten Island Advance, April 16, 2017 | |
| Mitter, Siddhartha,Illuminating the Lives of Women Battered by the Criminal Justice System, Village Voice, January 25, 2017 http://www.villagevoice.com/arts/illuminating-the-lives-of-women-battered-by-the-criminal-justice-system-9600264 | |
| Fressola, Michael, ‘Venus Comes of Age’ in Manhattan, Staten Island Advance, May 12, 2013 | |
| Klebesadel, Helen, Susan Grabel: Art that Explores the Human Dimension of Social Issues Helen Klebesadel: A Muse & Her Artist blog, http://klebesadel.wordpress.com/2012/06/04/susan-grabel-art-that-explores-the-human-dimension-of-social-issues/ June 4, 2012 | |
| Fressola, Michael, How Many Wrongs Make A Right?, Staten Island Advance, March 18, 2012 | |
| Sievert, Robert,Constructions of Conscience: The Social Art of Susan Grabel, www.artezine.com, Volume 19.03, http://www.artezine.com/issues/19/19ssg.html February 29, 2012 | |
| Sievert, Robert, Susan Grabel in the Studio, www.artezine.com, Number 10, May 2004 | |
| Fressola, Michael, Daring to be Beautiful, Staten Island Advance, November 5, 2000 | |
| Raynor, Vivien, Color Relationships in Valhalla, Family Ties in Krasdale, The New York Times, Nov. 7, 1993 | |
| Fressola, Michael J., Susan Grabel’s ‘Shadows illuminate isolation’, Staten Island Advance, Mar. 12, 1993 | |
| Zimmer, William, Mansion and Former Factory Offer Varied Views of Women, The New York Times, Mar. 18, 1990 | |
| Olderman, Maxine, Women artists take a complex view of their world, New Haven Register, March 4, 1990 | |
| Fressola, Michael J., Focusing on the Homeless, Staten Island Advance, February 26, 1989 | |
| Fressola, Michael J., Island Sculptor Depicts ‘What’s Out There’, Staten Island Advance, Dec 7, 1984 | |
| Brenson, Michael, Portraits: Form and Concept, The New York Times, June 29, 1984 | |
| Heartney, Eleanor, Portraits: Form and Concept, Art News, Nov. 1983 | |
| Bass, Ruth, Alive and Well in the 70’s, Art News, February 1981 | |
| Glueck, Grace, Art: Sculptured Figures of 70’s at Pratt Gallery, The New York Times, Nov. 7, 1980 |
Related Professional Activities:
Panel Moderator, #NeverthelessShePersisted: Women Activists Speak, Zoom Webinar 2021
Panel Moderator, Don’t Shut Up, Ceres Gallery, NY; Art Lab, Staten Island, NY, 2018
Panel Moderator, Women Under Siege: Sexism in the Criminal Justice System, Ceres Gallery, NY, 2017
Panel Moderator, Women Art Critics in the Age of the Internet, Ceres Gallery, NY, 2016
Panel Moderator, Living Your Feminism, Ceres Gallery, NY, 2015
Panelist, Better Than Ever, Long Island University Brooklyn Campus, Brooklyn, NY, March 2009
Panelist, Tending to One Place, Mid-America Print Council Conference, Fargo, ND, October 2008
Organizer, A Place at the Table, a celebration of the opening of the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art at the Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY 2007 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FA9oPjksiWs
Panelist, Visual Commentary on Culture and Nature, College Art Association conference, Boston, MA, February 1996.
Panelist, Art as a Vehicle for Social Change, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, 1994.
Panel Moderator, Cross-Generational Views of Feminism, Artists Talk on Art, Fulcrum Gallery, NY, March 1994