I paint to transform the chaos of memories, images, thoughts, colors, shapes, patterns and textures that swirl through my mind into something that reflects order and beauty-like when the shards in a kaleidoscope finally stop shifting and settle into a colorful, well-balanced composition.
The foundation of my painting is drawing. I work on linen panels, drawing the many elements I see in our hectic world along with those that pour out of my mind. Then I paint, repaint, and rearrange them until the painting becomes grounded. The multiplicity of images collectively form overall patterns. These patterns serve as an organizational device. The main figures end up subsumed in a world of flowers, butterflies, cupcakes, snails and so on. The chasm between the chaos of life and the coherence of the otherworldly, fantastical places I create imbues my paintings with poetry and mystery.
My paintings tell a story that continues to reveal itself with each viewing. Each painting contains multiple vignettes, some from my life and some purely from my imagination, forming an orderly artistic whole. The finished work tells not only my story but a story which resonates with the viewer.
I seek to transform the dissonance around us into balance and harmony.
Susan McLaughlin is recognized for her hauntingly imaginative and complex paintings depicting the harmony between humanity and nature. Her most recent work illustrates this relationship by featuring depictions of anthropomorphized plants and flowers.
Ms. McLaughlin was born in Manhattan, and painted and lived there for most of her life. She earned a BFA from Parsons School of Design and a MA in Studio Art from New York University. She started out painting in New York City and Newtown, CT and currently maintains a studio in Lauderdale By The Sea, FL. The varied locations at which she has painted have had a positive influence on her artistic vision. She was especially influenced by her wooded, lakeside environment in Newtown, where she was able to study the natural world around her.
John Torreano, former Co-Director of NYU’s Painting Program, wrote in his foreward to her book Depingo Ergo Sum, “Ms. McLaughlin’s paintings show authority with brushwork and she maintains a consistently assertive and convincing quality in both style and image. She moves nimbly across subject matter, context and medium, in order to present a coherent artistic vision.”
In addition to Depingo Ergo Sum, Ms. McLaughlin has written and illustrated three books of poetry.
Ms. McLaughlin has been a visiting lecturer at Parsons and taught classes in drawing, painting and illustration there. She recently gave a multimedia presentation on her career as an artist for the arts education program at the Delray Beach (FL) Public Library in conjunction with her solo exhibition Reach for the Moon.
Ms. McLaughlin’s work has been exhibited in museums including the Monmouth Museum, NJ, The Bonnet House Museum, Fort Lauderdale, NSU Art Museum, FL, and The Arnot Art Museum, NY. Her gallery exhibits include The Box Art Gallery, FL; Treat Gallery, NYC; Woodford and Jackson Galleries NYC; M.A.D.S. Gallery, Milan, Italy; The Gallery at Delray Beach Public Library, FL; Aqua Art Miami; Artexpo, New York; Art Basel Miami, FL; Municipal Gallery, Cultural Arts Commission of Newtown, CT; Martha Gault Gallery, PA; Armstrong Gallery, GA; Dacia Gallery, NYC and Saatchi Art. She has also received Judges' Awards and multiple Best in Show Awards from the Broward Art Guild, Fort Lauderdale, FL.
Ms. McLaughlin’s art is in many private collections, including Calvin Klein in NYC and BBDO Cnicago.