Celebrating Susan Hodgin

On the First Friday of August, a special gathering will take place in Hank and Dolly’s Gallery in the Harrison Center. The wonderful art of artist Susan Hodgin (including many recently acquired pieces) will be on display for the month of August. The work itself is alluring and powerful, and the story of the woman who created it is inspiring and heart-breaking at the same time. 

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Susan Hodgin died of cancer on August 22, 2014 at the age of 36. She was a talented artist whose passion for painting was matched only by her devotion to her role as wife and mother to her then two-year-old daughter, Anna. In a beautiful interview conducted by Erin Huber for the Mother Artist Project blog in February of that year, Susan said, “I love my daughter more than I love my breath, and still I couldn’t give up breathing for her. It’s the same with Art.”

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A native of Indianapolis, Susan earned a BFA from the University of Montana and an MFA from Massachusetts College of Fine Arts. She taught painting classes at The Indianapolis Art Center and had a studio at the Harrison Center for several years. Her career created a strong and beautiful body of work as well as a devoted following of those who appreciated her joyful presence and the way that it translated into her artwork.

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Susan’s art has always fascinated me. Her work combines geometric shapes with a soft, ethereal glow. For me, her paintings evoke a calming gentleness combined with confidence that somehow manages to be exciting and relaxing at the same time. Her paintings feature circles, ellipses and lattice shapes connected by areas of splashing, dripping colors that create distinctive, moving imagery. In an interview by Dan Grossman (Nuvo, August 26, 2014) Susan said of her work, “I do not want you to see the ellipse, the tree, the mountain, or the sky. Instead look at the color. The elliptical forms I paint are vehicles of color, space and light.”

The show which opens on Friday, August 3 in Hank and Dolly’s Gallery, (6:00-9:00pm) will feature over twenty of Susan’s paintings and drawings and promises to be a moving reflection on the life of a talented artist and beautiful person.

Lorie Lee Andrews