A figurative existential perception by artist Sue Vesely

Artist’s Biography:

Sue Vesely's work is about the body being seen as an expression of the mind. She uses the figure from every angle. to her the surface of the body is an expressive landscape. The pose the figure takes is 'mechanical' in structure. This becomes a three dimensional description of the emotional life within the mind of that figure.

The limitations of the body have created a common language. 'We all know how it feels to be in the pose when we see splayed fingers or an arched back.' Vesely explains. 'We are connected below the surface by a common language that is wordless.'

The artist shows the figure in a narrative situation and the composition is often constructed to give the viewer a role to play in the picture. She intends that at a subconscious level, her naturalistic representation of a familiar world, will give the viewer a sense that the picture is about him. As the viewer recognises that he has seen this reality before, a narrative usually forms in his mind without any comment from the artist, except for the title.

Workshops and Teaching.
Visiting lecturer Heart of England University
Life Drawing workshops 1992 – 98
Movement & Line workshop 1996
Private tuition 1984 - 2007

Year of Birth: 1953

Awards & Reviews:

Short-listed Artist in Residence National Gallery, 1984
Short-listed Artist in Residence Cambridge University, 1985

Gallery Representation: Signal Gallery, London, Tregonning Gallery, Derby,Jennifer Gerrard, Abingdon

Institutional Collection: Unilever; Royal College of Art; Wolverhampton City Art Gallery, Private Collections Worldwide : Britain; USA; Canada; Switzerland; Norway; France; Australia.

Artist’s Statement:

Presented as a statue, the body is a monument both to itself and to human thought.
I use images of statues to represent the idea of the body as a monument to itself and our culture, and images of real, fleshy bodies to represent emotional life. I use winged figures to represent that part of our thought that refuses to be material and finite.
Susan Vesely MArca March 2006

Education and Training:

78 – 81 Royal College of Art, London
74 – 77 Margaret Street School of Art, Birmingham Polytechnic
72 – 74 Stafford College of Art and Design

 The Artist's website:

 http://www.suevesely.com