Susan Dorothea White Bibliography

TRANSLATION: Tribute to Susan Dorothea WHITE

Hommage à Susan Dorothea White [Tribute to Susan Dorothea White]

Susan Dorothea White began devoting herself to her art in 1959, and had her first public exhibitions in 1957. Ideas flow continually through her imagination, and she selects the best of them, recording them in a sketchbook which she later returns to these notes for inspiration in creating her works. She develops several works simultaneously.

The three words suggested by Susan Dorothea White to characterise her work are “Satirical”, “Reverie” and “Golden Ratio”. She prefers the colour of the red earth of the Australian desert and feels an affinity with Janet Frame through her novel An Angel at My Table, and with Akira Kurosawa through his film Dodes’ka-den.

The most recent major exhibition whose importance she likes to recall is Camille Claudel Retrospective — Skulpturen-Gemälde-Zeichnungen, Hamburg, 1990.

For young people who are also inspired by the artistic adventure, Susan Dorothea’s main advice is to develop the discipline to create something every day, whatever the circumstances, not to seek celebrity and wealth, and to allow life to inspire the work. The work she recommends seeing above all is The First Supper, acrylic on wood, 130 × 250 cm, 1988, shown at the Volkshochschule Munich, Anton-Fingerle-Bildungszentrum, Schlierseestrasse 47, Germany.

WHITE Susan Dorothea
278 Annandale Street, Annandale 2038, Sydney NSW, Australia.

Born: 10 August 1941 in Adelaide, Australia.
Nationality: Australian.
Marital status: Married to Dr Brian Freeman.
Children: Michaela, born 6 May 1964; Paul, born 25 May 1965; Stephen, born 30 September 1968.
Leisure pursuits: Walking, creative writing, classical music, piano.
Artistic media: Painting, sculpture, watercolour, pastel, drawing, lithography, woodcut.
Materials: Marble, bronze, wood, sandstone.
Training: South Australian School of Art, Adelaide, Australia, 1959–60; Julian Ashton Art School, Sydney, Australia, 1960–61.
Tendencies: Fantastic art; narrative figuration.
Preferred artists: Hokusai, Bosch, Blake, Kollwitz, Chagall, Magritte, Shona sculpture, Goya.

Group exhibitions: Australia: Artists & Sculptors of Promise, Royal Art Society, Adelaide, 1959; National Sculpture Forum, Canberra, 1995; Sculptors Society, NSW Parliament House, Sydney, 1994/95/96/97; Works on Paper, Barry Stern Gallery, Sydney, 1997; Portia Geach Memorial, S. H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney, 1997. Germany: Intergrafik ’84, Berlin, 1984. Taiwan: 2nd International Print Biennale, Taipei, 1985. France: Biennale de l’Estampe, Perpignan, 1988. England: Prints with a Point, Bristol, 1989. Norway: 9th International Norwegian Print Triennale, Fredrikstad, 1989. Poland: Against War Triennale, Lublin, 1991. Slovenia: 19th International Biennale of Graphic Art, Ljubljana, 1991. Netherlands: Galerie K61, Amsterdam, 1991; International Print Biennale, Maastricht, 1993. Slovakia: 12th International Biennial of Woodcut and Woodengraving, Banská Bystrica, 1995. Japan: 14th, 16th, 17th and 18th International Impact Art Festival, Kyoto, 1993, 1995, 1996 and 1997. Italy: 12th International Print Prize, Biella, 1993; 12th Biennale Dantesca, Ravenna, 1996. USA: Montserrat Gallery, New York, 1994. Switzerland: 11th International Book and Press Fair, Who’s Who in International Art pavilion, Geneva, 1997.

Solo exhibitions: Australia: Technical College, Broken Hill, 1962; Adelaide Arts Festival at the Syndham Gallery, Adelaide, 1972; Seymour Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, 1977–80; Blackfriars Gallery, Sydney, 1978; Balmain Gallery, Sydney, 1986; Idioms in Mixed Mediums, National Sculpture Forum, High Court, Canberra, 1998. Germany: Galerie Arndt, Munich, 1980; Galerie am Buttermarkt, Cologne, 1991. Netherlands: Galerie Art & Architecture, Amsterdam, 1990. USA: Montserrat Gallery, New York, 1998.

Acquisitions: Thieves at the Markets and Children’s Hospital, lithographs, acquired by the Australian National Gallery, Canberra, Australia, 1986; Thelma of Wilcannia, woodcut, acquired by the Australian National Gallery, Canberra, 1986; Cry Freedom and Massacre, woodcuts, acquired by the Australian National Gallery, Canberra, 1992.

Distinctions and awards: Australia: Sands & McDougal Prize for Drawing, Adelaide, 1959; Rowney Prize for Fine Art, Adelaide, 1959; Willyama Prize, Broken Hill, 1960; John Gero Prize, Sydney, 1975; Print Purchase Award, Mornington, 1978.

Associations: France: member of the Association Internationale des Artistes since 1984; Australia: member of the Arts Law Centre of Australia since 1986.

Bibliography: Australia: Artists and Galleries of Australia and New Zealand, by M. Germaine, Lansdowne, Sydney, 1979; Directory of Australian Printmakers, by L. Wood, Print Council of Australia, Melbourne, 1982; Australian Artists Producing Prints, by A. Verbeek, Print Council of Australia, Melbourne, 1988; Artists and Galleries of Australia, by M. Germaine, Craftsman House, Sydney, 1990; A Dictionary of Women Artists of Australia, by M. Germaine, Boolarong, Brisbane, 1991; The Encyclopedia of Australian Art, by A. and S. McCulloch, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 1994. Korea: Contemporary Art Print of the World, Misool-Gongron-Sa Press, Seoul, 1989. USA: The Printworld Directory of Contemporary Prints & Prices, by S. Smith, Printworld International Inc., West Chester, 1993/94, 1995/96 and 1997/98; The Fine Art Index: A Compendium of Contemporary Art and Artists, International Art Reference, Chicago, 1994; Miscellanea, P. Amberg and A. Hays, Embassy of Australia, Washington, 1998.

Places where the artist or her work may be seen: the artist’s residence; Volkshochschule, Anton-Fingerle-Bildungszentrum, Schlierseestrasse 47, 81539 Munich, Germany; Museum of International Contemporary Graphic Art, P.O. Box 1118, 1631 Gamle Fredrikstad, Norway; Australian National Gallery, King Edward Terrace, GPO Box 1150, Canberra 2601; Majdanek State Museum, ul. Droga Męczenników Majdanka 67, 20-325 Lublin, Poland; Inter Art Galerie Reich, Neue Langgasse 2, Cologne; Montserrat Gallery, 584 Broadway, New York 10012; Solander Gallery, 10 Schlich St, Canberra 2600.