Suzanne Gaffney Beason is exhibiting paintings and prints in the Stairwell Gallery from July 25 - August 29, 2026 at Main Street Arts

Artist Statement

'Vibrant large-scale floral abstractions are the subjects of my acrylic paintings. Bold strokes on canvas launch compositions to convey themes of unbridled freedom, abundance, resilience, and the desire to control our own destiny. The tension between compliance and our wilder tendencies is represented by charming vessels and enticing colors, subtly seducing flowers into cooperation, or spurring them on toward rebellion. Directional stalks and simplified spherical blossoms celebrate with the same joy we feel when we notice paint gathered at the edge of a brushstroke or orange vibrating over blue. Complex layering is laid next to areas of flat color and highlighted with marks of mixed media.

My training as a Printmaker frees me to use everything from dead brushes to old linocut plates to rollers to squeegees and spray paints. The generous canvas size gives my marks the extension I revel in and the physicality I enjoyed as a printmaker. I find purpose in letting nature mirror our moments of jubilation and support us through our personal or political struggles.

If art cannot save the world because that may be asking too much of what it is best at and too little of us, I believe that my paintings can at least revive the viewer and perhaps renew a connection to our shared humanity, even if it is as tenuous as the hold of a petal by a rose.'