About
Susan Avishai creates sculpture from deconstructed, discarded clothing. Her work evokes awareness of the exploitive nature of garment manufacture and the paradoxically enormous problem of textile waste. Susan has mounted 17 solo shows, won many prizes in national and international juried exhibitions, and is represented in several large corporate and museum collections. She was elected into the Ontario Society of Artists in 2015. Originally from Montreal, Susan has a BFA (1971) from Concordia University, studied as well at the Ontario College of Art in Toronto,and the Académie Julien in Paris. She received an MA (2002, Hollins University, VA) in writing and literature. Toronto is now home, after years in Jerusalem, New York, Boston, and Ottawa.
Her new work has been included in the book Dimensional Cloth, Sculpture by Contemporary Textile Artists by Andra Stanton; profiled in Fiber Art Now; and she was a featured artist in Australia’s Textile Fibre Forum. She was a presenting artist at the 3rd International Textile Symposium at the Mark Rothko Centre in Daugavpils, Latvia, was chosen for the 2016 Gardiner Museum’s Twelve Trees Christmas program, and is currently curating a show of 10 artists who also work with up-cycled textiles, to be exhibited at the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum in Almonte, Ontario. Recent work was shown at the Mary E. Black Gallery in Halifax, NS and she participated in Fiberart International 2019. She was chosen twice for Excellence in Fibers and once for Excellence in Quilts organized by Fiber Art Now. Most recently she was invited to be a featured speaker at the 2023 SAQA Conference in Toronto.
M.A. 2002 Hollins University, Roanoke VA, English and Creative Writing
B.F.A. 1971 Concordia University (then Sir George Williams U), Montreal, Quebec
(includes one year at Ontario College of Art, Toronto, and one year at Académie Julien, Paris)
Solo exhibitions
2019 Mary E. Black Gallery (public), Halifax NS
2017 Retrospective of Fibre Art, Cedar Ridge Gallery, Toronto
2017 Varied Together (with Bill Schwarz), Earls Court Gallery, Hamilton
2011 Less Prose, More Poetry, Rouge Concept Gallery, Toronto
Fragments (with Bob Bernstein), Triangle Lofts Gallery, Toronto
2009 New Abstraction, Petroff Gallery, Toronto
Spring Forward, Petroff Gallery, Toronto
2008 Soul of the Machine, TYPE gallery, Toronto
‘Scapes of the Clothed Figure, Hangman Gallery, Toronto ON
2007 On the Line, Ottawa School of Art Showcase, Ottawa
2006 Unbuttoned, Atrium Gallery, Ottawa
2004 Faces of Wellesley, Wellesley Free Library, Wellesley, MA
2003 Unbuttoned, Perspective Gallery, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA
2001 Ci'-vis: Portraits of Newton, Newton Free Library, Newton, MA
1995 Prints & Drawings Lighthouse Gallery, Tequesta FL
1993 ‘Scapes of the Clothed Figure, Newton Free Library, Newton MA
1982 Silverpoint Drawings, Bridgewater State College, Bridgewater MA
2 -4 Person Exhibitions and Installations
2017 Installation, Daniel Spectrum, Fashion Art Toronto
Varied Together, Earls Court Gallery, Hamilton ON
2016 Installation, The Artist Project, Toronto
2012 A L O N E /Together, Artscape Triangle Gallery, Toronto
2007 The Underwood Series, IPO Gallery, Ottawa ON
2000 Solitudes, Lyman Eyer Gallery, Newton, MA
1999 Equinox, Randolph Associates Fine Art, Belmont, MA
1998 Two Coasts/Four Visions, Horn Gallery, Babson College, Wellesley, MA
1994 Three Figurative Painters, Andrea Marquit Fine Arts, Boston, MA
1992 Two Women, Francesca Anderson Fine Art, Lexington, MA
Group Exhibitions (selected)
2023 Among the Garbage and the Flowers, Mississippi Valley Textile Museum, Almonte, ON (CURATOR)
2022. Excellence in Quilts, Virginia Quilt Museum, Harrisonburg VA
Quilts=Art=Quilts, Schweinfurth Art Center, Auburn NY
Sustainability, SAQA Global Exhibition, New England Quilt Museum and travelling until 2025
Art Prize, Grand Rapids MI
2021. Festival of Trees, Mississauga ON
2020 The Brain Project 2020, Toronto ON
SAQA booth at SOFA, Chicago IL (cancelled)
Colour With a U, Henry Watson House, Kitchener ON (on tour until 2023)
Live Wire, Form & Concept Gallery, Santa Fe NM
“In Progress” video, World Textile Association, Chile
Queen West Art Crawl, Toronto ON
Montreal-en-Arts, Montreal QC
2019 Fiber Art International 2019, Pittsburgh PA
Sacred Threads (SAQA International), Herndon VA
Upcycled! (SAQA International), Houston TX (on tour until 2022)
Reused and Recycled Site:Brooklyn, Brooklyn NY
Excellence in Fibers, Print Catalog and expanded issue of Fiber Art Now
Excellence in Fibers, Muskegon Museum of Art, Muskegon, MI
2018 E is for Earth, Toronto Design Offsite Festival
2017 Art Prize 9, (Monroe Community Church) Grand Rapids MI
In the Spirit of Indigo, Propeller Gallery, Toronto
2016 12 Trees, Gardiner Museum, Toronto
Fibreworks 2016 Biennale, Queen's Square Gallery, Cambridge, ON
Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition, Nathan Phillips Square, Toronto
3rd International Textile Art Symposium Exhibition, Daugavpils, Latvia
Re-purposed, Core New Art Space, Denver, CO
Excellence in Fibers, Print Catalog and expanded issue of Fiber Art Now
Drawing Show 2016, John B. Aird Gallery, Toronto
From the Earth Textiles, Mardleybury Gallery, Datchworth, UK
Agape Me, Aurora Cultural Centre, Aurora, ON
World of Threads, International Exhibition, Oakville ON
2015 Order/Disorder, OSA Open Exhibition, John B. Aird Gallery, Toronto
OSA New Members Show, John B. Aird Gallery, Toronto
Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition, Nathan Philips Square, Toronto
Fantastic Fibers International, Yeiser Art Gallery, Paducah KY
2014 World of Threads, Int'l Exhibition, Living Arts Gallery, Mississauga
On the Wild Side, Gallery 1313, Toronto
Fiber Content 2014, Burlington Art Gallery, Burlington ON
Hard Twist, Gladstone Hotel, Toronto
Drawing 2014, John B. Aird Gallery, Toronto
2013 Drawing 2013, John B. Aird Gallery, Toronto
2006-9 Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition, Toronto
2007 Montreal International Festival en Arts, Montreal
Drawing 2007, John B. Aird Gallery, Toronto
2006 Faces of Boston, Boston City Hall, Boston, MA
23rd Annual Portrait Show, Francesca Anderson Fine Art, Lexington, MA
2002 Diversity in White, Studios on the Square, Roanoke, VA
1998 The Male Image, Fowler Gallery, Provincetown, MA
1997 All New England Color Show, Cohasset, MA
1996 International Colored Pencil Society Exhibition, San Diego, CA
Women in the Visual Arts/96, Erector Square Gallery, New Haven, CT
1995 The Drawing Show, Boston Center for the Arts, Boston, MA
1994 Realism '94, Parkersburg Art Center, Parkersburg, West VA
International Colored Pencil Society Exhibition, Birmingham, MI
Awards
Ontario Arts Council Exhibition Assistance Grant 2018, 2022
Best of Show, Colors of Community, Allendale, Michigan
Elected into the Ontario Society of Artists, 2015
Curry’s Purchase Award at The Drawing Show, John B. Aird Gallery Toronto 2014
Third Place, The Drawing Show, John B. Aird Gallery, Toronto 2013
First Place, Diversity in White, Studios on the Square, Roanoke VA, 2002
First Place, All New England Color Show, Cohasset, MA, 1997
Merit Award, The Drawing Show, Boston Center for the Arts, Boston MA, 1995
Second Place, Realism ’94, Parkersburg, WV, 1994
Gallery Alliance Award, International Colored Pencil Society, Birmingham MI
Drawing Award, Cornerstone Gallery National Open, Falls Village, CT
Professional Associations
SAQA 2018-present.
Featured speaker at the 2023 SAQA conference in Toronto.
Surface Design 2020-
Ontario Society of Artists 2015-
Colored Pencil Society of America 1993-1998
Graphic Artists Guild Boston 1990-1997, Board member 1994-96
Museum and Corporate Collections
Bell Canada, Toronto
Fed Ex Canada, Toronto
Bridgepoint Hospital, Toronto
Shaare Zedek Synagogue, Montreal
Mark Rothko Centre, Daugavpils, Latvia
Residencies
Third International Textile Symposium, Daugavpils, Latvia October 2016
Xochi Quetzel Fibre residency, Chapala Mexico, March 2019
Exhibition Reviews, Articles
Fiber Art Now, profile “Refashioning Memories” Fall 2018 issue
Textile Fibre Forum, June 2016 Feature article about my work
Fibre Art Now, Winter 2015-16 Excellence in Fibers
Patrick Donohue, Dilettante's Diary Blog on the Drawing Show, 2/13 and on Toronto Outdoor 7/06
Ron Fletcher, Face Time (Faces of Boston, Boston City Hall), Boston Globe 6/25/06
Rachel Lebeaux, Drawing on Wellesley's human resources, Wellesley Townsman 10/04
Arts Outlook: Susan Avishai; Newton Magazine Vol. 3, Number 5, 2004
Powers, Nicholas, Faces of Newton, The Tab, February 22. 2001
Willard, Christopher, Drawing w/waxed-based colored pencils, American Artist (11/96).
Fletcher, William, Illustrating Books--Inside and Out, Artist's Magazine (Feb/1996), p.31-39, illus.
Exhibition catalog, 'Realism 94, Parkersburg, West Virginia, illus.
Boston Artists Explore the Figure as Subject, Antiques and the Arts Weekly, (December 23, 1994)
Temin, Christine, At BCA, drawings droll to dramatic, Boston Globe (September 28, 1993), p.61
Unger, Miles, review of The Drawing Show, Art New England, (December/January 93/94)
Reddy, Tara, Diversity of Drawing, The Harvard Crimson, September 1993
Estrada, Anita, Art Shows-Hot Pick, The Tab (January 26, 1993), p.41, illus.
Alexander, M. Darsie, The Drawing Show, South End News (September 16, 1993), p.14
Exhibition catalog, Realism 93, Parkersburg, West Virginia, illus.
Senay, Elaine, Exploring the Fabric of People, Boston Globe (December 27, 1992), pp.5-7, illus.
Van Jura, Gary, Variety by four at Artisans Gallery, Berkshire Eagle (November 21,1985)
Books that include my work
Stanton, Andra, Dimensional Cloth: Sculpture by Contemporary Textile Artists, Schiffler, (2018)
Curnow, Vera, The Best of Colored Pencil 4, Rockport Publishers, Massachusetts, (1997)
Curnow, Vera, Creative Colored Pencil Portraits, Rockport Publishers MA, (1996)
Curnow, Vera, Creative Colored Pencil, Rockport Publishers Massachusetts, (1995)
Rose, Ted, Discovering Drawing, Davis Publications, Massachusetts, (1995)
Curnow, Vera, The Best of Colored Pencil 2, Rockport Publishers Massachusetts, (1994),.
Goldstein, Nathan, Figure Drawing, 4th ed., Prentice Hall, New Jersey, (1993)