BIO
The works of Sue Willis reflect her deep appreciation for animals and the natural world and suggest connectedness between all things in nature. Her media include hand-built and slip-cast porcelain, stoneware, resin, cast bronze, glass, encaustic, paint, mixed media, video, performance, art installation.
Willis was born in Chicago and received her MFA from The Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia. She resides as a working artist in New York City, currently an adjunct-associate professor at The Fashion Institute of Technology, with former positions at New York University, Parsons School of Design, Pratt Institute, The School of The Art Institute of Chicago and their Oxbow artist-residency program in Saugatuck, MI.
Public works include the Kennedy Medallions (selection of materials and fabrication) for The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the design in maquette of three (thirty-five foot high) steel site-specific sculptures, commissioned by Chermayeff & Geismar Associates/NYC for Altria Group (installed in Richmond,
VA), the design and fabrication of The Pegasus Medallion Awards for Mobil Oil, commissioned by CGA (presented at Madison Square Garden), the design in maquette of all Mardi-Gras Pavilion sculpture for the Louisiana World’s Fair Exposition, commissioned by MetaForm Inc./NYC, and the execution of twelve large-scale murals installed in London for MacKay’s Stores Ltd, commissioned by Tucci, Segrete & Rosen Consultants/NYC. Other commissions include a life-size, figurative sculpture for Klemtner Advertising/NYC and works on paper commissioned by Eastern Airlines for their Leadership Campaign.
Exhibitions and installations in New York City include The Mid-Manhattan Library, The Museum at The Fashion Institute of Technology/The Reeves Great Hall/ Pomerantz Gallery, Bravinlee Programs, The Concorde Room/JFK Airport, Robert Friedus Gallery, Ceres Gallery, Mary Delahoyd Gallery, The Jane Hartsook Gallery and 490 Atlantic Gallery. Other exhibitions include Beacon Street Gallery/Chicago, Cliff Room Gallery/Chicago, The Union League Club of Chicago and The Speed Art Museum in Louisville, KY. In 2011, Willis was invited to join the Feminist Art Base of The Brooklyn Museum’s Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, and she's included in the artist registry of The National September 11 Memorial & Museum. Her profile was featured in illustrated articles for NHK Magazine/Tokyo, The Dodo, Huffington Post Italia, and Oubliette Magazine.
IG/YOUTUBE/PUBLICATIONS/MUSEUM ARCHIVES:
Brooklyn Museum, Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art: Feminist Art Base: Sue Willis