Suzanne Onodera’s lush ,romantic oil paintings borrow from the traditions of the 19th century landscape painting with a strong abstract expressionistic foothold. Her landscape abstractions exist in the point between the sublime and the apocalyptic, the melancholic and an exalted Void. Her paintings are based not in a historical or illustrative subject matter, but rather a mood inspired by a sense of place, transient light and shifting atmosphere and weather.
Born in Berkeley, CA (1964) Suzanne Onodera attended the California College of the Arts, Oakland, CA (BFA, Painting 1989, High Distinction) and the School of the Art Institute, Chicago, IL (1987) She has been a recipient of several Artist in Residence fellowships in Oregon, Maine, Vermont and New York. A Northern Californian native, Suzanne recently moved her studio to Upstate New York where she finds inspiration in the Northeastern landscape and climate.
Her work has been published in the widely recognized anthology of Asian American Women poets and artists living in the San Francisco Bay Area, Cheers to Muses (Asian American Women Artist Association, 2007), and Painted Landscapes: Contemporary Views, by Laura Della Monica (Schiffer Publishing, 2013). In 2014 her work was featured in the Spring edition of Watershed Review, a venue for writers, poets and visual artists published by Chico State University, Chico, CA.
Suzanne has served as Vice Chair (2006-2007) for the Richmond Arts and Culture Commission bringing art and culture to the under served districts in Richmond, CA. She has worked with at-risk youth in Oakland, CA under the supervision of Allan Kaprow (CityArts Series, 1986) and at-risk youth from economically challenged regions of Oregon and Maine. She has been a curator for Banned!, an exhibition of writers, poets and artist commemorating Banned Books Week at the Tompkins County Library, Ithaca, NY (2013).
Her work resides in collections both corporate and private throughout the United States and Europe. She is represented by Seager Gray Gallery, CA; Costello Childs Contemporary, AZ ; Tang Gallery, AZ; Corners Gallery, Ithaca, NY and Gallery Wright, VT.