Susan Beallor

Biography

Susan Beallor is an interdisciplinary artist. Born and raised on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, Beallor-Snyder's creative, inquisitive nature led her to pursue several different media over the course of her career: photography, classical goldsmithing, sculpture, painting, and collage. Exemplified in her current body of large-scale manila rope forms, her practice as an artist is to find depth within simple subjects and materials; breathing profound emotion into the compositions she creates. In addition to working as an artist, Beallor-Snyder has a background in film and television production and a passion for natural foods and holistic living.

Artist statement

Susan Beallor is a multidiscipline artist, venturing into various avenues of 3-dimensional form. In particular, Beallor-Snyder works with sustainable natural manila rope material, using intuitive and enduring free-weaving techniques.

The work is a combination of knots, clusters, and lines that vector the viewer's eye throughout the sculpture, between turbulent islands and calmer spaces within. The pieces said to be reminiscent of the female form both inside and out overwhelm the human scale.

The art-making process is physically demanding on the artist and Beallor-Snyder has stated that the physical pain in creating the work can be equal to the emotional pain she expresses. Behind the spontaneous decision-making process stems a personal narrative, reflecting emotional responses to being tangled between raising a family and the desire to make work on top of traditional domestic responsibilities; a weight not uncommon to women. Often, the road does not come linearly to women, who are subject to putting the needs of others before their own.