For the past several years Grove’s work has been concerned with man’s interaction with the natural environment. While there are never any figures in the work there is always the mark that humanity has left: industrial wastelands giving way to high rises, farmland and forests folding to create overgrown housing developments, automobiles distorting the scenery they were manufactured to speed through, boat hulls recording the stormy seascapes they were built to navigate, beautifully displayed e-waste, a peek at what our world will look like once the sea levels have finally reached our eyeballs. These are toxic environments we are creating by industry, human convenience, progress. Visually, Grove is deeply inspired by painters like Gerhard Richter and Anselm Kiefer and strives to create photographic work that is painterly.
Grove is a graduate of the School of Visual Arts in NYC with a BFA in Photography, Her work has been exhibited throughout the United States, Europe, and Japan. She has been published in numerous books, magazines, and newspapers and has pieces in public and private collections both in the United States and Europe. She is the creator of the group “Thou Art Mom”; which stemmed from her series of the same name and brings mother artists together for support and networking. She has curated two shows with the same title as well as others on different themes. Grove is also the creator and curator of 24/7/art an online gallery on Facebook.
Works may be purchased by contacting the artist directly. Selected pieces are also available at Saatchi.
Statement:
These images were created by painting with light projected through colored water and the shadows of objects on a tabletop. While they resemble cityscapes they are completely fabricated realities. The title of the series “Both Sides Now” refers to the song by Joni Mitchell but also to my view of the Hudson River which I have lived on both sides of over the course of many years. Each of these images is titled with lyrics from songs about clouds.
As with most of my work this series references my concerns about climate change and the increase in coastal flooding. While my real life view of the Manhattan skyline inspired these creations they are made looking through water as it rises at my feet.
Instagram: @susanevansgrove
Bluesky: susanevansgrove.bsky.social