'Explorations in Encaustic' Solo Exhibition

This gallery show explores the complexity of encaustic, a paint made from natural beeswax and damar resin.

Utilizing substrates ranging from sumi paper to cradled panel, Suiter’s work reveals extraordinary color and depth, achieved using techniques developed over the course of her twenty-five year career as a painter.

Her panel work includes strategic scrapes and carvings, both above and below the painting surface, visible clues inviting viewers to look deeply into the mystery-laden stratum of wax. Textural build-ups offer a glimpse into the three-dimensional possibilities inherent in encaustic, while the contrasting expanses of luminous, highly-polished, smooth surfaces exhibit the finesse and skill of Suiter’s experienced torch-work. In contrast, her wax and paper hangings evoke a delicate transparency, encased within the material strength of encaustic.

Awards recognizing Suiter’s expertise in encaustic include a Permanent Collection Purchase by the Anchorage Museum of Art, a Rasmuson Foundation Individual Artist Project Award, and an Alaska State Council on the Arts Career Opportunity Grant, funded by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Suiter teaches workshops on the art of painting with encaustic at Bemis School of Art. Online at www.backdoordesigns.com

Free and open to the public in the Deco Lounge from Dec 1, 2017 – Jan 28, 2018.