SUE OEHME
Artist Statement
For the past few years my work has been based on formal (and abstract) elements of art making: color and spatial relationships, line and form, and the varieties of mark making. I have given myself a limited number of ideas to work with in order to focus on what starts to happen when the paint is applied to the surface of the paper. In the studio I have small pieces of paper tacked up with these simple words on them: Dots, Loops, Lines, Curves, Shape and Structure, which are the fundamental ideas I have when beginning a new piece. I work in series, and often have five or six pieces in progress at any given time.
I work primarily on fine cotton rag and Asian papers, and usually start with layering of “background” information, painted with a variety of water based materials such as fluid inks, watercolor, gouache, house paint and acrylics. I often also utilize non-water based media (i.e. glue, oil crayons, tape etc) in order to have areas that ‘reject’ the layers of color. Very often, I will begin working on a piece, and then put it aside for a month or so, in order to regain some objectivity when I approach it anew. I also like to challenge myself by intentionally creating something at the beginning that I think will be difficult to finish, or I am unhappy with. I find that when I can analyze a piece and effectively add something to it that pulls it together, it becomes, in my mind at least, almost a scientific process, and I get the most satisfaction from that problem-solving aspect.
I am also quite simply fascinated by the very essence of paint and materials. I find it mesmerizing at times to watch as the paint goes down and areas blend together or as colors or forms change during the drying time. My best work comes at times when I feel that I have almost lost myself in the process, and the work is nearly on a sub-conscious level, but in the end my formal training comes back into the formula to make corrections and bring balance to a piece.
Awards
The Print, Ann Arbor Arts Association, Grant from Michigan Foundation for the Arts, 1982, Best of Show
The Print, Ann Arbor Art Association, Ann Arbor, MI, 1981, 2nd place award
Publications
528.0 Regional Juried Printmaking Exhibition, group exhibition featuring a large scale site-specific installation at the Arvada Center for the Arts & Humanities, Arvada, CO, January – March 2020
The Sum of Our Parts, solo exhibition at SPACE Gallery, Denver, CO November 2019 – January 2020
Pop Up in Pink, group show at W Gallery, Steamboat Springs, CO October – November 2019
Art of the State-2019, juried exhibition at the Arvada Center, Arvada, CO, January – April 2019
Wonderland, group exhibition at SPACE Gallery, Denver, CO, November 2018
Connected by Color, Four person exhibition at the Arvada Center, Arvada, CO, September – November 2018
SUE OEHME, Solo exhibition at W Gallery, Steamboat Springs, CO, August – October 2018
Denver Month of Print show at SPACE Gallery, Denver, CO, March 2018
Master Printmakers and Print Educators in Colorado, group exhibition at McNichols Civic Center Building, Denver, CO, January – April 2018
Palettes, Group Show at the Art Depot, Steamboat Springs, CO, February 2015
Behind the Scenes, Group Show at the Art Depot, Steamboat Springs, CO, May 2014
First Friday, Group show at K. Saari Gallery, Steamboat Springs, CO, March 2013
Geometry Satellite, Group show at pop-up K. Saari Gallery, Steamboat Springs, CO, September 2012
Solo exhibition at K. Saari Gallery, Steamboat Springs, CO, August 2010
First Friday, Group show at K. Saari Gallery Steamboat Springs, CO, November 2007
Five, Group show, K. Saari Gallery, Steamboat Springs, CO, August 2007
Exhibited at Works on Paper, New York City, Park Ave, Armory, March 2007
Exhibited at Art Chicago, van Straaten Gallery, April 2006
New Drawings and Monoprints, Solo show, Steamboat Springs Arts Council, Steamboat Springs, CO, April 2006
Word Play, SSAC Winter Works Show, Steamboat Springs, CO, 2002, Best of Show
Salon Show, Test Site Gallery, Brooklyn, New York, NY, 1992
The Neurotic Art Show, Artist’s Space, New York, NY, 1992
Print Show, Scarab Club, Detroit, MI, 1982
The Traveling Print Show, University of Michigan, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, University of Dallas, SUNY at Albany, Maryland Institute of Art, Cleveland Institute of Art, 1981
Print Show, Scarab Club, Detroit, MI, 1981
