Artist Statement
I find inspiration in various ways. Since I am a visual person, usually, things I see trigger something in me, giving me the impetus to start a new painting. But the story behind a picture can also be inspired by personal experiences, even by stories I read.
For the college SELF-SEWED BEST FRIEND, I was inspired by a magazine article about how many adults still have their favorite childhood stuffed animal at home, even though it's decades old. I open my pores to all outside influences and let all my feelings about a subject flow into painting.
Often collages are the starting point for my paintings. I do not make many sketches because I want to work as
spontaneously as possible on the canvas. The struggle on and with the canvas, the colors, and the subject itself
fascinates and fulfills me. I love having to solve any problems (also in terms of formal aesthetics) in the picture. The more it challenges me, the better. From time to time, my paintings also arise quite freely from myself.
EWIGMEIN (FRIDA), for example, is such a work. The combination of abstraction and figurativeness fascinates me the most, and it is essential for me to develop myself further.
The collages are vital to me because the creative process is playful, leaves all possibilities open, and serves my inner child. It is particularly significant because a particular childishness is necessary for making art.
"Sometimes, we are behind a mask or covered by something or someone, an inner turmoil, and have a feeling to shed one's skin and step out into something new. Sometimes we can feel optimistic and, at other moments, perhaps skittish, thinking in the cold alone. So why not paint that as well? Why not the raw, the dark, the unknown?"
Susanne Zagorni's luxuriant canvases are painted from recollections. Not precisely what transpired, but the emotional sensations still lingering inside. With a profound curiosity about the psychology of rugged or enigmatic emotions behind it, the stimulus.
Her works explore universal themes and emotions. She carefully assembles her paintings to evoke compelling narratives, making the viewer connect with the artist and her work on a deeper level through a spectrum of feelings and color.
Her work bridges a gap and relatability of the human condition, connecting the viewer through emotional sensations and engaging with her work on a deeper level through the language and the colors of the spirit.
Her abstract canvases bounce with color and reflection of ponderance and exuberance.
Her works burst and bloom with texture and a plunging abyss of introspection and sensation, carefully constructing and considering the human condition and what makes us all profoundly relatable.