ARTIST STATEMENT
My work is inspired by the natural world – while also responding to the vernacular. The focus of my work is often a result of locational surroundings along the winding roads of the Tidewater regions to Appalachia [born/raised Appalachian, long term resident of Tar-Pamlico River Basin]. These sites are filled with sensory experiences that include historic vernacular and indigenous botanicals. I have developed an abiding love of interpreting the past as personal, archetypical and cultural artifact. Before I construct a piece, I construct its meaning – a story—matrix of personal, cultural, and archetypal associations within which my assembled fragments will find their place. I imagine these fragmented surfaces, placed in space, informing, and concealing deeper meanings. My multi-media methods include printmaking, fiber, illustration, and assemblage – which invites viewers to examine and engage with orchestrated expressive textures and forms. This included the cultured landscape and history within its’ social context, such as the cultural units and spaces of these communities.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Susan Fecho specializes in multi-media printmaking, surface designer, and illustration with a M.F.A. from ECU. Fecho has exhibited nationally, and internationally – and has received numerous awards, grants, and residencies. Fecho, born in Virginia and long-term resident of North Carolina, is connected to “place” – she has a deep appreciation for the natural world of North Carolina, her home. Fecho’s images have been accepted into several major collections: the Smithsonian Institution’s American Art Museum/National Portrait Gallery Library, Washington, D.C.; the Word and Image Department, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, England; and the Museum of Women Artists, Washington, D.C.
Solo Exhibitions.
Vernacular Resonance, Victor R. Small House. Sampson Country Arts Council, NC. 2024.
When I Breathe on Air. MCA Art Gallery, Emory and Henry College, VA. 2022
Drawing and Prints, Francis Marion University Galleries, 2019
Celebrating Light and Line, English Harbour Arts Centre, Newfoundland, CA
Portrait of a Town Called Penny Hill, Rosewood Gallery, Kettering, OH
Juried/ Invited.
2024 Handcrafted. Imperial Center, Rocky Mount, NC. Juried Exhibition. Jan. 28 – May 7. 2024
Living Mentors: A Teaching Artist Exhibition. Morgan Art of Papermaking Conservatory and Educational Foundation, Cleveland, OH. 2024
Time Memory Mythos, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, IL. 2023
(EM)power (EM)brace (EM)body. SDA’s Winter 2022–2023 Selections online exhibition.
Craft to Art Series: Fiber. The Bascom: A Center for the Visual Arts, Highlands, NC. 2020
Self in Flux, SEFEA member’s traveling exhibition, Marshall University, WV, 2020
Form Line Shape Space Exhibition, Middle Tennessee State University, 2020
© Susan Fecho