Susan Valyi

Big Blue Bull - charming, figurative, re-purposed blue enamel sculpture

2017

Susan Valyi studied at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in the early 70s, and has not stopped experimenting, challenging herself and making art since. Her work is mostly figurative – sometimes anthropomorphic or metamorphic – often focusing on gesture and pose. "As a sculptor I am interested in the creation of new forms and the three dimensional, tactile pleasure of a finished work. I like exploring unconventional materials. My work is mostly figurative with a mix of human and animal form. I would say what pleases me most is the exploration of gesture and pose but then I will turn around and cannibalize a chair to make a temple. My work starts with collecting. I'm currently working mostly with old chairs and furniture that is beyond repair and has been discarded by the side of the road. Or begged from friends. Some of my sculpture take to complete so where the discard was pretty instantaneous, the rescue and transformation is long and involved. More than anything, the disassembling and reassembling satisfies my soul. I think it's probably a very personal gratification. I'm addicted to process even at the risk that a piece doesn't work out. My materials are unforgiving in that I can't reshape easily but that's where the excitement lies. In not knowing how something will turn out. Each piece is different. There's always a challenge. My sculptural process is one of addition, rather than subtraction. I build up forms by adding and then I grind away. It's a continuous, long and messy process that was born of an accident years ago. I work from my sketches. I certainly leave room for accidents to happen in the studio but I like the sketching. I like to have a good idea where I'm going before I start a piece. I like working with old wood which already has it's stories to tell. I sometimes find the most interesting inscriptions on the undersides of old chairs. One of the chairs I cut up had 'Mammy's chair 1945' scrawled under the seat. The wood is old seasoned and always surprisingly rich when I add a finish of tung oil. It's a challenge to make something out of nothing. I believe artists are guided in part by their materials. I studied at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design and though I have joked that it has taken me thirty-odd years to recover from the experience, there is only a bit of truth to it. I think all the experiences we have as artists give us context and experience, although somewhere along the line I discovered the truth that I work alone in more ways than one. My art experience is solitary in terms of exchange but I continuously study art in a very pop culture kind of way. I devour art magazines and go to galleries whenever I can."