Murmurations 3, installation at the Athenaeum, Alexandria, VA
“I went to Schar this morning specifically to see your uplifting installation of Murmurations. I had heard of your work from my sister… who had found comfort and tranquility in the sculpture while her husband was receiving treatment for cancer.”
Susan Hostetler - Murmurations
After earning her fine arts degree in painting and printmaking, Susan Hostetler added hand paper making as a skill and medium with awards from the Russell Siebert and Tiffany Foundations to study with Twinrocker Handmade Paper in Indiana, where she made custom papers for artists such as Rauschenberg, Warhol and Jasper Johns.
Overseas travel led to Hostetler setting up a hand paper making mill in Friedberg, Germany in 1985. Her work in Germany led to exhibitions at the Gutenberg and Klingspor Museums. While retaining the paper mill in Germany, Hostetler moved her art studio to Barcelona, Spain which became her base for image collection in the Mediterranean, Adriatic and Aegean regions. Whether working in gouache and mixed media on handmade paper or with clay sculpture, Hostetler has always been inspired by the natural world and habitats of various countries and climates, thus earning the moniker, Eco-Artist. Upon her return to the US, she settled in New York City and continued travels and further exploration when she moved to the Washington, DC area in 2000.
Hostetler's work has evolved to include large wall installations of clay sculptures, specifically birds. Her fascination with murmurations, flight patterns and patterns in bird songs have inspired her latest works in graphite drawings and sculptural room installations. Living near the Chesapeake Bay continually inspires this Eco-Artist with series related to life within the tidal marshes and wetlands.
Her work in permanent collections includes a 75’ long Murmuration installed at INOVA Fairfax, VA, a large, multi-panel site-specific commissions for the Federal Reserve Bank, as well as commissions for the US Committee for UNIFEM, Four Seasons Hotel, Deutsche Bank, Dunn & Bradstreet, Readers Digest, Fidelity Corp, UPS, Humane Society and several others. She was selected for the Arts in Embassy Program, by the US State Department and, by the Smithsonian Institute for its SITE Traveling Exhibition.
Susan Hostetler has exhibited in galleries in NYC, Boston, San Francisco and Washington, DC. Her works have been featured on the film, "You've Got Mail", the TV series, "Beverly Hills 90210" and in publications including the Boston Globe Magazine, Washington Post, Frankfurter Rundshau and New York Hotelier. Her studio is in Washington, DC.
Email: shostetler91@gmail.com