Using materials such as string, sippy straws and post it notes suspended between two and three dimensions, I try to evoke the essence of an object and remake the known (an iceburg, a soccer ball, a subway system) into something uncommon and transformative. The architecture of a space becomes as integral to each piece as its social content (an effect of global warming, building cultural spirit, the ineffectualness of transportation).
Born in Connecticut, USA, Shutan received her MFA from Rutgers University, Mason Gross School of the Arts, New Brunswick, NJ USA, and her MFA from California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA, USA.
A recipient of various awards and grants including an Artist Resource Trust grant from the Berkshire Taconic Foundation, Great Barrington, MA, an international CEC Artslink grant, NY, an artist fellowship from Art Matters, NY and Individual Artist Fellowships from the Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism. She has been awarded Artist Residencies that include Yaddo, Saratoga Springs, NY and The Bemis Foundation, Omaha, NE.
Internationally she has exhibited at Proyecto Ace in Buenos Aires, Argentina, The Palace Ujazdowski Contemporary Art Center, Warsaw, Poland, Rogue Art Gallery, Victoria, Canada, Berlin Kunstferin and University of Freiburg, Germany, Centro Colombo Americano Gallery in Bogota and Medellin, Columbia, The Swedish Archives in Bjaared, Sweden, ArtPolitika in Russia and her national exhibits include The Alternative Museum, WAX, Abrons Art Center/ Henry Street Settlement, Souyun Yi Gallery all in NY, Yale University, The Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Real Art Ways in CT and the Laguna Beach Art Museum in California. Her work is in collections such as the Villa Taverna Foundation.
Suzan Shutan teaches Sculpture at Housatonic Community College in Bridgeport, CT and is an MFA Mentor at Transart Institute, NY, Austria & Berlin (low residency program) and MFA Mentor at Vermont College of Fine Arts, Montpelier, VT (low residency program).