Susan Stockwell’s work takes the form of drawings, collage, sculpture and installation.
It is primarily concerned with transformation. The materials used are the everyday, domestic and industrial disposable products that pervade our everyday lives. These materials are manipulated and transformed into art objects.

Vividly symbolic ‘maps’ of Britain, South America and Africa are literally ‘stitched up’ commodities – constructed from tea bags, coffee filter papers and rubber tyre inner tubes they questions the historic and present day trading of luxury commodities and address the post and neo-colonial implications of Global commerce. Paper is the material most often chosen, maps, dress making patterns, tea bags, coffee filters, waxed paper portion cups and toilet tissue are used to make objects that act as ready-made signifiers. The processes of working with materials – accumulating, stacking, sewing and quilting manipulate and transform, sometimes minimally affecting the material in sensitive and subtle ways or highlighting characteristics, such as paper’s ethereal and fragile qualities. For example, Stockwell made a body of work from toilet tissue (1990’s) -sponsored by Kleenex who enabled access to huge industrial size rolls and sheets of fragile paper. The translucent floating sheets became light tunnels and huge ponderous stacks, alluding to monumentality and ancient civilisations, yet they were temporal and fragile, not easily recognisable as toilet tissue.

In the American magazine Art on Paper the art critic Anat Rosenberg writes,

‘Stockwell’s works are indeed accumulations-of the debris of everyday life. However they conjure up additional implications of accumulation, the strongest being the desire to appropriate everything from luxury goods to land to people. And in mapping out her chosen locations, Stockwell reminds us of the cost of this far- flung impulse’.
– Museum and Gallery Reviews July/August 2000.

SUSAN STOCKWELL

Born in Manchester in 1962, works and lives in London.

EDUCATION

1993
MA Sculpture, Royal College of Art, London

1988
BA Fine Art / Sculpture, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield

SOLO EXHIBITIONS:

2009
Susan Stockwell New Works, The Art League. Houston. Texas, U.S.A.

2008
Paper Tiger, Canary Wharf. One Canada Square. London, U.K.
Line Drawing, British Trade and Cultural Office. Taipei, Taiwan.
B-side Ecology, The HONG Foundation. Taipei, Taiwan. R.O.C.

2006
Paper, Steel, Paper, 20/21 Visual Art Centre, Scunthorpe, U.K.
This and That, Shenghua Art Centre, Nanjing China

2005
Stitched-up: Paper and Politics, Studio Caparrelli. London, U.K.
Text and Work, The Gallery at The Art Institute at Bournemouth. U.K.

2002
Coffee House, Studio Caparrelli. London. U.K.
Susan Stockwell Installation, Lyon and ~Turnbulls Auction House.
Festival Exhibition. Edinburgh. Scotland.

2001
Susan Stockwell Selected Works, The Victoria and Albert Museum. London.
Material Accomplices, Finesilver Gallery. San Antonio. Texas. U.S.A.

2000
Accumulations, Thomas Korzelius Fine Art. New York. U.S.A.
Accumulations, The Economist Plaza Gallery. London. U.K.

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS:

2009

Parallels, Pharmaka Gallery. Los Angeles, U.S.A.
Readdressing Identities, The Katona Museum of Art. New York.
Post Ready-Made, Nevada Museum of Art, U.S.A.
Susan Stockwell, The Florence Nightingale Museum, St Thomas’s Hospital, London, U.K.

2008

Summer Exhibition 2008, Royal Academy of Arts. London, U.K.
Paper Trail, Patrick Heide Contemporary Art. London, U.K.
Beijing Biennale 2008, Beijing, China.
The Lay of the Land – The Cartography of Real and Imagined Landscapes, 20/21 Visual Art Centre, Scunthorpe. Lincs. UK.
Book : an exhibition of book–inspired artwork, London print studio gallery. London,U.K.
Mapping the Imagination, Victoria and Albert Museum, London,U.K.
On the Map, Sheffield Millenium Galleries, U.K.
Body Space, Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery. Carlisle. U.K.
Space and Place, Belgium. Multi media.

2007
Citylogue, Taipei Artist’s Village Gallery. Taipei. Taiwan.
Miami Art Fair, Patrick Heide Contemporary Art. Miami. U.S.A.
Blind Memories, 198 Gallery. London. U.K.

2006
Conversations, Ambrosino Gallery, Miami, U.S.A.

2005
Pulp Fantasy, 20/21 Visual Arts Centre. Scunthorpe. U.K.
The Biggest Draw, Millenium Gallery. Sheffield.
Constructive Paper, Three Person Show. The Harley Gallery and Foundation, Nottinghamshire,
The British are Coming, Fiberscene, Fiberarts. U.S.A.
London Art Fair, England and Co. London. U.K.
Sartorial, England and Co. London, U.K.
The Map is Not The Territory, England and Co. @ The James Hockey Gallery. Farnham.
Sculpture a Spectator Sport, Bryanstone School. Dorset.

2002
Bursary 2002, The Royal Society of British Sculptors. London. U.K.
Festival Exhibition, Bourne Fine Art. Edinburgh Scotland.

2000
Multi Storey, Tart Gallery. London. U.K.

1999
X,hibit ’99, Battersea Arts Centre. London. U.K.

1998
Here Artists Interventions at the Aldrich, Aldrich Museum of Art. Ridgefield, Connecticut. U.S.A.

AWARDS AND GRANTS:

2005
‘A.H.R.C. Small Grants for the Arts’ .
‘Research and Development Award’.
The University College for the Creative Arts at Farnham.

2004
‘Annie McCall Heritage Project’ European Funding Board.
‘Lambeth Arts’ Development Fund.
‘Research and Development Award’. S.I.A.D.
‘Research Sabbatical’. S.I.A.D.
‘Bursary Award’. The Royal Society of British Sculptors
‘Research and Development Award’. S.I.A.D.

2002
‘Champions for Change Millenium Award. Peabody Trust.
‘Sainsbury’s Arts Award’. Sainsbury’s Supermarket.
‘Bursary Award.’ The Royal Society of British Sculptors
‘Research and Development Award’ S.I.A.D.

1999
‘The British Council Travel Award’
‘Research and Development Award’. The University of East London.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

2006
The Guardian ‘Susan Stockwell, Scunthorpe’. Guide Preview. Robert Clark. 11th Nov.
Scunthorpe Telegraph. ’Recycled Exhibition’. Article. 8th November.
B.B.C. Radio Humberside. Live Interview. 4th November.
Crafts Magazine ‘altered states, susan stockwell and the politics of paper’. Article by Carole Tulloch. Jan/Feb.
Elle Decoration Creative Spaces. Images. March.

2005
ARTFORUM Critics Picks, London. Susan Stockwell
Studio Caparrelli. June.
Surface Design Journal. Susan Stockwell by Jessica Hemmings

2003
FIBREARTS. ‘Post Colonial Discourse in Garment Form.’ Jessica Hemmings 2002
V&A Magazine. Article – Frontlines. ‘Pattern of The World’. May-Aug 2003.
The Map is Not The Territory part iii. Catalogue. England and Co Gallery. London.

2001
B.B.C. Radio London. Interview. The Lisa Anson Show. 6th Nov.
Leonardo Music Journal. ‘Not Necessarily English Music’. Front cover.
The Scotsman. ‘Hang it in the Louvre’ Susan Mansfield. 13th Aug.
B.B.C. Scotland T.V. ‘Regional T.V. News’. 9th August.
B.B.C. Radio Scotland. ‘Arts News‘. 9th Aug
San Antonio Express News. ‘Gallery Stroll’. Finesilver Gallery.
Dan Goddard. June 10th.

2000
Radio 4. ‘Midweek’ with Libby Purvis. 19th Jan.
Art on Paper. ‘Museum and Gallery Review’. Anat Rosenberg. July/Aug 2000.
London.Co.Uk. Magazine. Gavin street. February.
Time Out Magazine. ‘Art Preview’ Martin Herbert. Jan 6th.

VISITING LECTURER:

2005
The Victoria and Albert Museum. London

2004
The Art Institute at Bournemouth
The University of East London.
School. Dorset
The Royal College of Art, London.
Ringling School of Art and Design, Sarasota, Florida. U.S.A.

RESIDENCIES:

2007
‘Artist in Residence’. Charles Edward Brook School. London, U.K.

2005/6
‘Artist in Residence’ Shenghua Art Centre. Nanjing, China.

2004
‘Visiting Artist’ Annie McCall Heritage Project/Stockwell Park School. Stockwell. London,U.K.
‘Visiting Artist’ Stockwell Park School. Stockwell London, U.K.
‘Visiting Artist’ Kingsdale School. Dulwich. London, U.K.

2002
‘Taking a Line for a Walk’ A Drawing of Stockwell. ‘Mapping Stockwell.’ Stockwell Festival.
‘Visiting Artist’ Stockwell Park School. Stockwell. London, U.K.

1999
‘Artist in Residence’ Finesilver Gallery. San Antonio. Texas. U.S.A.

COLLECTIONS:

The Victoria and Albert Museum. London. U.K.
Binghamton Art Museum. Binghamton. New York. U.S.A.
Karol Vail Collection. New York City. U.S.A.
Thomas Korzelius Gallery. New York City. U.S.A.
Christopher and Georgia Erk Collection. Finesilver. San Antonio. Texas U.S.A.
Studio Caparrelli. London. U.K.
Shenghua Art Centre. Nanjing. China