Susan’s Portfolio




Wabi Sabi Series


This series unfolds as a quiet meditation on wabi-sabi, a contemporary echo of an ancient philosophy. Wabi speaks to the solitude of being alone in nature, while sabi lingers in the gentle, inevitable beauty shaped by time. Together, they invite a way of seeing—one that finds grace in weathered metal, in crumbling walls, in the soft erosion of all things. It is a reverence for what fades, fractures, and endures.

Wabi-sabi lives in asymmetry, in roughness, in restraint. It honors the understated and the incomplete, the subtle dialogue between nature and its own undoing. The tradition of wabi-sabi has long guided my hand—its simplicity, its discipline, its quiet depth. In this work, I continue that lineage while allowing space for my own voice to emerge. What remains is a reflection of a life drawn toward minimalism, where less becomes more, and absence carries its own presence.


Metamorphic I

24″x 18″

Ancient Whisperings

24″x 11″

Metamorphic II

24″x 18″

Ember Glow

36″x 36″

Worn and Still

36″x 36″

Melting Boundaries

36″x 36″

The Lost Tablet

48″x 30″

Radiant Echoes of Time

36″x 36″

Veil of Urbanity

48″x 36″

Abstracts


Through abstraction, I explore the evolving relationship between nature and the built environment as it ages. It is within the quiet dialogue between these forces that I find my deepest inspiration. Time and the elements leave their mark—weathering, eroding, and reshaping surfaces into unexpected compositions. The patina of metal, the peeling of worn walls—these become living canvases, rich with texture, history, and quiet complexity.

I am drawn to the layered surfaces of decay, to the patterns that emerge as structures slowly yield to nature. Each mark suggests a passage of time, a fragment of a story partially revealed, partially concealed. What histories lie beneath these surfaces, hidden within their layers as they fade and fracture?

This sense of the past—its erosion, its persistence—guides my work. In response, I create my own visual narratives, where memory, material, and time converge.


Red on Red

48″x 30″

Under Spine

48″x 30″

Salmon on Terracotta

48″x 30″

Blue Tower

48″x 30″

Moon Cycle

48″x 30″

Interscape of Cells

48″x 30″

Blue Melt

40″x 30″

Interlocking

36″x 36″

Gentle Thoughts

40″x 30″

Green Melt

36″x 36″

Ethereal Flow

20″x 16″

Spring Equinox

36″x 36″

Star Gazing

20″x 16″

Vessel of Hope

20″x 16″

Split Mesa

20″x 16″

Sky Blue and Aqua

24″x 20″

Lemon Yellow and Blue

24″x 20″

Steel Blue and Cream

24″x 20″

La Primavera

20″x 16″

Sea of Cortez

20″x 16″

Lime Green and Pink

30″x 24″

Golden from Within

40″x 30″


The My Tribe series explores the dual nature of aging—both the visible transformation of the physical body and the evolving depth of the inner self. While the body inevitably shows signs of wear and decline, the spirit endures, often growing more radiant with time. These two forces—deterioration and illumination—exist in parallel and are central to this body of work.

This series consists of ten large-scale paintings titled My Tribe: In Our Aging World. Through layered applications of paint, pen, and gestural markings, each piece reflects the gradual disintegration associated with the aging body. The canvases themselves are intentionally distressed, with frayed edges and worn surfaces that echo the effects of time and atrophy.

In contrast, vivid passages of color—particularly fluorescents—emerge across the surface, symbolizing the vitality and energy that persist within. These are accompanied by intuitive, “ancient” markings that suggest memory, lineage, and an enduring human presence. Together, these elements create a visual dialogue between fragility and resilience, revealing beauty not only in what fades, but in what continues to shine.


Assume the Lightness

60″x 34″

Beneath the Ancient Veneer

60″x 34″

Inner Glow

60″x 34″

More than a Statistic

60″x 34″

Porous in the Heart

60″x 34″

Segmentation of the Body

60″x 34″

Strength of the Spirit

60″x 34″

The Heart stills beat Fire

60″x 34″

Vision of Energy

60″x 34″

Unbearable Weight

60″x 34″

Portrait of the Artist

48″x 30″

Portrait of the Artist

By Bernd Handau