Susan Grossman: Urban Stories

Jerald Melberg Gallery is pleased to present Susan Grossman: Urban Stories showcasing new drawings on paper in charcoal and pastel. This exhibition is Grossman's fifth with the gallery.

Grossman has built a strong reputation for rendering urban scenes of New York City primarily in black and white and shades of gray. Colored pastel is typically used minimally or to enhance her glimmering cityscapes, but plays a much larger role in many of these new works. Suddenly viewers are warmed by sherbet sunset hues or drawn to Technicolor taxicabs and umbrellas. These flashes of color, which the artist couples with strong compositional and perspectival effects, make the work glow with a cinematic quality.

Grossman wanders the streets of New York, taking her own photographs, to capture scenes that ultimately inform her compositions. Once the photographs are printed, she sifts through them in her studio, selecting choice components from many images to form the resulting drawing. The familiar, generally mundane elements of city life define this work. Commuters hustle and families stroll under umbrellas while wet sidewalks reflect street lamps and taillights Cabs, cars and trains cruise along as skyscrapers keep silent watch over the hustle and bustle of the city.

Susan Grossman earned a BA from Bennington College in 1981 and a MFA from Brooklyn College in 1988. She has taught at City College of New York, the National Academy School of Fine Arts and Wesleyan University.

There will be a Coffee and Conversation artist lecture led by Susan Grossman at the gallery on Saturday, January 25 at 11 a.m.