Biography
Susan Day has an extensive exhibition and installation history as an artist working in ceramic, straddling the worlds of fine art and contemporary craft. In earlier works she has used the material qualities of clay (simultaneously soft and malleable and at times fragile and breakable) to expose the vulnerabilities of the body. Recently, she has used more oblique references to the body, drawing connections to nature and identity in large scale architectural installations. Through this work, she has experienced the power of public (or public facing) art to create meeting places and instil pride and ownership in neighbourhoods and places where communities meet. This work embellishes surfaces in lived environments with relevant, important and provocative content and is the work she wants to pursue.
Selected Works
Susan Day
The Game, 2023
Susan Day
Sightlines, 2023
Susan Day
But this situation, 2020
Susan Day
Social Distance, 2020
Susan Day
Crawl (From a Dream), 2023
Susan Day
When we left the jungle, 2023
Susan Day
Untitled (Red Inside), 2020
Susan Day
Motor Mouth, 2023
Susan Day
Vase Face (Vertical), 2023
Susan Day
Recovery, 2020
Exhibitions
November 9 - November 25 - 2023
Susan Day & Jason McLean “Transfer Station”
Two-person exhibition featuring new ceramic sculptures by Susan Day and drawings by Jason McLean.
More
October 26 - October 29 - 2023
Art Toronto 2023
Art Toronto 2023 from October 26-29 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre
MoreCurriculum Vitae
EDUCATION
NSCAD, Halifax, Nova Scotia
Artsake, Toronto, Ontario
Sheridan College School Of Crafts And Design, Lorne Park, Ontario
RESIDENCIES
1989 – The Banff Centre, Banff, Alberta
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS AND INSTALLATIONS
2024
London Children’s Museum, London, Ontario: Large Scale Handmade Tile Installation
Canadian Clay And Glass Gallery, Waterloo, Ontario
Van Der Plas Gallery, NYC, NY
Craftontario, Toronto, Ontario
2023
Transfer Station, Susan Day And Jason McLean, Michael Gibson Gallery, London, Ontario
Royal Flush, Van Der Plas Gallery, NYC, NY
McIntosh Gallery, (Public Art Installation)Regional HIV/Aids Connection, London, Ontario (With Cornerstone Architects, Principle Alison J.L. Hannay)
Birds Exhibition, Westland Gallery, London, Ontario
Embassy Cultural House, 30th Anniversary Storefront And Virtual Exhibition
2022
Regional HIV/Aids Connection, London Ontario (With Cornerstone Architects, Principle Alison J.L. Hannay)
Legacy Park Public Art Installation, Lethbridge, Alberta
Rays Of Light, Group Exhibition, Van Der Plas Gallery, NYC, NY
Exterior Facade Installation , Van Der Plas Gallery, NYC, NY
2021
Community Engaged Public Art Project, Macintosh Gallery, Western University, London, Ontario
Mosaic House Residential Exterior, London, Ontario (With Skinner Architects)
Exhibition, Van Der Plas Gallery, NYC, NY
Stop Extinction! Restore The Earth (Virtual Exhibition), Embassy Cultural House, London, Ontario
Go; Rise And Strike Exhibition (Virtual Exhibition), Embassy Cultural House, London, Ontario
2020
London Artist Studio Tour, London, Ontario
London Children’s Museum, London, Ontario
Pandemic Exhibition (Online Exhibition), Embassy Cultural House, London, Ontario
2019
International Women’s Day Show (Group Exhibition), Westland Gallery, London, Ontario
2018
Waterworks, Norfolk Art Centre, Simple, Ontario (With Vicki Easton Mclung)
City Of London Mosaic Project, London, Ontario
Old East Village Neighbourhood Mosaic, London, Ontario
Nanjing Youth Cultural Centre, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
2017
Celebrate Canada 150 Mosaic, London Clay Art Centre, London, Ontario
Strand Fine Art Services, London, Ontario (Group Exhibition)
Suquian Cultural Centre, Soyu, Jiangsu, China
2016
Museum London, London, Ontario (Group Exhibition)
2010
John Labatt Art Centre, Western University, London, Ontario
2006
La Chambre Blanche, Quebec City, Quebec
2003
University Du Quebec A Chicoutimi, Chicoutimi, Quebec
1998
A Space, Toronto, Ontario
McIntosh Gallery, University Of Western Ontario, London, Ontario (With Micah Lexier)
John Labatt Art Centre, Western University, London, Ontario
Theilsen Gallery, London, Ontario
1996
Open Studio, Victoria, British Columbia (With Ron Benner, Jamelie Hassan, Kim Moodie, And Wyn Gelynse)
SELECTED COLLECTIONS
Bronfman Foundation
McIntosh Gallery
Museum London
Private Collections
AWARDS
1990, 1991, 1995
Canada Council
1998, 2020
Ontario Arts Council
SELECTED REVIEWS AND PRESS
Helen Simpson, Diary Of A Tile Addict , Blog Post – You’ve Not Seen Tiles Like This (2023)
Leon, Calvi – 12000 Tiles,One Goal – Mosaic Project Honours Lives Lost To Overdoses (2023)
Lupton, Andrew – Mural To Convey Theme Of Caring At Supervised Drug Treatment Site (2023)
A Driving Force – Video – Mcintosh Gallery , Western University, London, Ontario (2020)
Pifco, Cara – Rethinking Identity Or The End Of The Individual, Instagram Live Conversation (2020)
Smith, Mackenzie – Remembering The Embassy Cultural House, Embassyculturalhouse.Ca (2020)
Pratt, Darlene. Ceramics Monthly (2 Articles) (2019)
CBC Radio – Rebecca Vanbergen (2019)
CBC Radio – Jane Antoniack (2019)
Benedict, Ben, Rethinking Our Secret Biography ; Works By Micah Lexier And Susan Day (1998)
Williamson, Janice, And Elliott, Bridget; Dangerous Goods: Feminist Visual Art Practices (1992)
Miller, James, Fluid Exchanges : Artists And Critics In The Aids Crisis (1990)
