SuZen

Biography

SuZen's art has evolved from traditional black and white photography to multi-media installations, performance art, and a 40’ x 25’ painted mural, Flowing Light,  in heart of NYC’s Times Square. Her photography is exhibited in museums and galleries and collected internationally.

Bringing her art into NYC’s public arena,  she received grants from the National Endowment of the Arts (NEA) for inter-arts four-woman performance/ installation, “Between Spaces” at JFK airport. Her painted mural of her photograph, “Flowing Light,” has graced 42nd Street since 1984. It was funded by the New York State Council on the Arts.

In 2016, at SuZen had a 50th-anniversary retrospective, “Visions of Light and Spirit”, which displayed her exploration of Reality and Illusion using various techniques, including multiple printing, montage, collage, and selective toning. At the exhibition, she premiered a new multi-media installation, “Transmigration.” It was inspired by Buddha’s teachings and is the culmination of her artwork, bringing together multiple layers of reality, light, and spirit.

Her recent series, FLORA OBSCURA, is created with her iPhone. It depicts flowers appearing as radiant beings—each bloom glowing from within, embodying quiet strength and spiritual presence. Inspired by the chiaroscuro tradition, these images transform ordinary blossoms into symbols of vitality and inner illumination. They invite viewers into a realm of stillness and wonder, where light, shadow, and form whisper the essence of nature’s Spirit.

Artist statement

“Light – the essence of photography – has always been a fascination to me. As an artist, my goal is taking the photographic medium into new dimensions. My passion is exploring multiple realities that reveal the essence of Spirit.”

My fine arts photography explores Reality and Illusion. Using multiple levels of realities, it plays with the viewers’ perception. Over the years, the form may have changed however the essence is Light and Spirit. My work has transformed from working years in the darkroom and exhibiting in galleries and museums to entering the NYC public arena with a performance art/installation, “Coming From Blindness Into Sight,” in the lobby of One World Trade Center and a 40’ x 25’ painted mural of my photograph, “Flowing Light” on 42nd Street which graces Times Square since 1984. It was funded by the New York State Council on the Arts. Other grants I received are from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Department of Cultural Affairs, and the New York Foundation for the Arts.

My newest series FLORA OBSCURA is created with my iPhone. Eash flower appears as radiant being—glowing from within They embody quiet strength and spiritual presence. Inspired by the chiaroscuro tradition, these images transform ordinary blossoms into symbols of vitality and inner illumination. They invite viewers into a realm of stillness and wonder, where light, shadow, and form whisper the essence of nature’s Spirit.