Susan Budge (Houston)
"Gifts, Guardians & Objects of Affection" 

Featuring works resulting from forty years of exploration in clay. Reflections on life, influenced by the Dada movement, Brancusi, Miró, and Ernst, Susan Budge has explored sculptural forms by embracing the work ethic of the surrealists - working spontaneously in the studio and allowing forms to emerge from the subconscious, the realm of authentic creativity. 

The cut, or interlocking forms present in this body of work reference a meditative practice, while her love of nature and the human figure is revealed in the curving, bulbous forms. Her fascination with mystery is illustrated with the human eye, peering from abstract works. “Having my son has been one of the greatest gifts of my life, and the sculptural forms with the realistic eyes began with him watching me in the studio. The guardians represent the spirit of the people I have loved who have passed. The objects of affection are the small forms that reference the quote from Kandinsky that ‘everything that is dead quivers, even a white trouser button glittering out of a puddle in the street. Everything has a secret soul, which is silent more often than it speaks.’”

Raised in west Texas and New Mexico, Budge earned a BFA in Ceramics at Texas Tech University, and a MA from University of Houston Clear Lake. In 1989 and 1990, she was awarded two Artist in Education Grants from the Texas Commission for the Arts and discovered her love for teaching. She taught at San Jacinto College in Houston, then moved to San Antonio College, as Head of Ceramics where she received tenure, full professor and continued her education earning a MFA at University of Texas San Antonio. 

In the forty years that she has worked in clay, she has had 30 solo exhibitions and has been included in hundreds of invitational and juried exhibitions throughout the United States. Budge has work in private collections in Saudi Arabia, Greece, The United Kingdom, Australia, and Mexico. Her work is included in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian, the Honolulu Museum of Art, the San Antonio Museum of Art, The San Angelo Museum of Art, the Art Museum at Northern Arizona State University, the Art Museum of South Texas, the Daum Museum of Contemporary Art, and the New Orleans Museum of Art. Susan has received public commissions for Brackenridge Park, The South Texas Center for Blood and Tissue, and Lady Bird Johnson Park in San Antonio. Corporate Collections include Wyatt Energy, Tesoro, San Antonio Department of Cultural Affairs, Project Control, Five States Energy, and Saks Fifth Avenue. 

Budge returned to Houston, for a one year residency at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft following retirement from San Antonio College. She continues to teach ceramics at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston’s Glassell School and the Art League of Houston.

To learn more about the artist, visit www.susanbudge.com