BIO

Suzanne Bates was born in Gainesville, GA in 1984 where she grew up around horses, dogs, brothers, a pig and a peacock. At the age of 12, she relocated with her family to the mountain of Colorado. She later attended an all girls’ boarding school in Baltimore, MD after extensive traveling with her family. In 2004 Suzanne moved back to Georgia to attend Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) and in 2010 she graduated from Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design with a bachelors of fine art in painting.

Since then Suzanne has pursued a career in fine arts showing and selling her work as well as volunteering as an art therapist with oncology and pediatric patients.
C.V. (click to expand)
EDUCATION
2009-2010                 Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design; Denver, Colorado
                                     Bachelor of Fine Arts; Painting                                                    
2004-2007                Savannah College of Art and Design; Savannah, Georgia      
                                                            
SOLO EXHIBITIONS 
May 2017                    What I Saw When My Eyes Went Wild; Gallery 51; Denver, Colorado
July 2016                     Antique Revival; Next Gallery; Denver, Colorado
March 2015                Beautiful Imperfections; Next Gallery: Denver, Colorado
March 2014                Aerial Voyage; Next Gallery; Denver, Colorado
April 2011                   Hidden Treasures; Next Gallery; Denver, Colorado
June 2010                  Reflective Impact; Next Gallery; Denver, Colorado   
  
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
May 2017                   Biennale National Juried Exhibition 2017; Art League of Hilton Head; Hilton Head  
                                    Island, South Carolina 
October 2016            Members Show; Next Gallery; Denver, Colorado
January 2016             Ice Breakers; Ice Cube Gallery: Denver, Colorado
October 2015            Halloween Show; Next Gallery; Denver, Colorado
August 2015              Mail Art Show; Next Gallery; Denver, Colorado
December 2014        Holiday Show; Next Gallery; Denver, Colorado
November 2014        Collaboration Show; Next Gallery; Denver, Colorado
August 2014               Denver Modernism Art Show; Denver, Colorado
August 2014               Denver County Fair Art Show; Denver, Colorado
December 2013         Holiday Show; Next Gallery; Denver, Colorado
July 2011                      USA Pro Cycling Challenge Bike Art; Denver International Airport; Denver,  
                                     Colorado
December 2010         Rocky Mountain College Of Art and Design; Graduation Show; Denver,
                                     Colorado
March 2010                Maximum Birth; Kanon Gallery; Denver, Colorado                                         
February 2010            The Love Show; Core New Art Space; Denver, Colorado
January 2010              The Member Show; Next Gallery; Denver, Colorado  
November 2009        Day of The Dead Show; Pirate; Denver, Colorado
September 2009       The Abstract Show; Core New Art Space; Denver, Colorado                                    
Fall 2008                     The Muse Project Gallery; Moods Gallery; Denver, Colorado                                                                        
Summer 2007            A World Of Culture; Anise Café; Englewood, Colorado
 
WORK EXPERIENCE
2011-2012                    Thierry Goldberg Projects Internship; New York, NY
May-Dec 2010           Plus Gallery Internship ; Denver, Colorado
April 2010                   Catherine Widgery Assistant;  Denver, Colorado
 
CURATOR
March 2014                 Healing Passages; Healing Arts Oncology Program; Next Gallery; Denver,
                                     Colorado
 
VOLUNTEER
2013-2016                  Healing Arts Program, Pediatrics and Oncology; Presbyterian and  
                                    St. Luke’s Hospital; Denver, Colorado
 
PRESS & PUBLICATION
July 2011                     Pro Cycling ‘Bike Art’ Challenge Channel 9 Metro Mix
                                    http://denver.metromix.com/entertainment/2757230
2011                            Art Takes Miami Publication
 
 
CO-OPS & MEMBERSHIPS
2009-Present           Next Gallery; Co-director; Denver, Colorado
2009-2010                Kanon Gallery; Denver, Colorado
2006-Present           Denver Art Museum; Denver, Colorado
 

PROCESS

Suzy Savoy's current body of work focuses on the transparency of materials and the processes.  By using glass as the canvas, the viewer is able to see through the dimensions of the work.  On the top layer, the design is laid out in decorative gold and silver acrylic dots, which plays with light that changes the image as it alters.   On the reverse side of the glass is abstract fluid paintings made of enamel paint, which creates dimension and life to the image on the front.  The glass also allows for a shadows to be cast on the wall behind it, adding yet another layer to the work, breaking the two-dimensional boundary.   This amount of transparency grants the viewer an idea into the processes that take place in the creation of the art. 

BODY OF WORK

What I Saw When My Eyes Went Wild

2017
The nights draw out into a restless battle. The heat and humidity cling onto you with the desperation of a drowning man. It seeps into the depths of your marrow. Beads of sweat work across glistening skin as drenched sheets tangle themselves, trying to ring the remaining life out of you.
 
Images of creatures that hide in the darkness, craw and slither over the pillows, and through your matted hair. Hoping to escape the horrors, you open your heavy eyes but they refuse to disappear. The flash of lightening relieves the fear for an instant, then plunges you deeper into the madness.
 
As the early morning light pierces through the nightmare, you become aware that the dark images have burned themselves into your eye. These creatures are always waiting, night after night, which brings a terrifying comfort.

Antique Revival

2016
​There is no question to the value of the monumental moments that happen during a lifetime. We cherish them, fear them, cling onto them. But there is a certain unnoticed magic that exists in the seconds before. When the universe and all its components slow to a synced drumming; your heart races and stops simultaneously and there is a stillness between breaths. What happens in those moments? Teetering between life and death, past and future, joy and fear? There is a certain electricity that comes from the earth, that connects you completely to the universe. In this space, you can peer into one’s soul and become aligned to the ancient elements of existence. It exists in a look on a lovers face, the anticipation while waiting for results, a powerful glance. But as you try to hold onto the moment, it has already vanished. A glimpse of clarity and chaos before you learn life’s final mystery.
 
These are the moments that are the most real, the most authentic. If we can embrace them, then we can move beyond language, gender, culture, love, hate, and even death. We are powerless in these instances which suspends us in time, allowing complete freedom.

Aerial Voyage

2014
In a constantly changing world, one element has remained a constant in human life: art. Every ancient culture has found a way to communicate using visual symbols to documenting their lives, beliefs, struggles, and passions.

Although we have extreme differences to our lives, there are also many similarities that most people would choose not to focus on. In the over-populated world that we live in today, we tend to focus on the things that make us different because our differences give us our individuality. Art is the expression of the individual. But why are we so afraid of each other’s differences? When we allow each person and culture to thrive in their traditions we open ourselves to creating something harmonious and uniquely beautiful.

In my work I not only try to find what I have in common with other people, but also try to celebrate the differences that I find in myself and in other cultures, past and present. By using symbols from ancient civilizations and modern tribes, I have tried to create common ground from many cultures. Doing this helps the viewer find something meaningful with the painting, and gives them courage to allow the painting to be personal. Everyone’s perception of the world is different; I am simply sharing my perception of the world with you.

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