Susan Graham, Beautiful Ohio at Lux Art Institute, Glazed porcelain, 2012
As a young girl, Susan Graham thought everyone graduating high school went to work for General Motors.
It seemed to be a tradition in her hometown of Dayton Ohio. True to this theme, Graham did grow up to work on General Motors cars, just smaller and more artistic versions. In her installation Beautiful Ohio, she created a tiny highway that merged the Ohio auto industry with sugared mastery.
Known for her work that blends the rugged masculinity of General Motors cars with the beauty of white porcelain, Graham challenges traditional gender roles. With a lace-like pattern, Graham turns General Motors cars, a symbol of sturdiness, grime, and gasoline, into ethereal objects.
When Graham found herself at the Lux Art Institute residency without a kiln, she had to use clever innovation to retain that white ethereal “piping” look of her porcelain sculptures. Her solution? White sugar solution extruded from a pastry tube! Here, in a playful twist—Graham was using a material often associated with baking to create intricate cars designed like those made by General Motors.
Susan Graham, Beautiful Ohio at Lux Art Institute, Glazed porcelain, 2012
Sugar became a sweet medium that created the lacelike pattern, but with it came an assortment of challenges. None of the pieces could get wet as water would melt the sugar, and touching them could make them crumble. In this way, Graham added another layer of complexity to her work—the fragility of these sculptures reflected the tension between the tough, durable image of industrial machinery and the delicate, fleeting nature of her materials.
In addition to the car collection Beautiful Ohio, Graham also made a group of guns out of sugar and water, titled My Dad’s Gun Collection, which replicated her father’s favorite firearms. These she displayed in a velvet lined case with an indentation carved out for each of the 22 pieces from pistols to rifles.
Susan Graham, Toile Wallpaper at Lux Art Institute, 2012, ceramic, flowers, sugar
Another fascinating installation was Graham’s three-dimensional model Toile Landscape. Each diamond-shaped unit captured the paradox of the natural material, sugar—with industry, electricity, and synthetics. Graham’s wall decor included many contemporary 21st-century items surrounded by her more typical filigree bric-à-brac. Graham's wallpaper patterns have cellphone towers and electrical charging stations as their counterpieces rather than the bunnies and kittens found in young ladies' bedrooms of yore.
Whether it's a sugar-infused car or an edible AK47—Graham turns everyday objects into something far more playful. She gives us permission to laugh, to question, and to embrace the unexpected connections between sweetness and steel, fragility and fortitude.
Susan Graham, Beautiful Ohio at Lux Art Institute, Glazed porcelain, 2012
Susan Graham, Beautiful Ohio at Lux Art Institute, Glazed porcelain vehicles, 2012
Susan Graham, Beautiful Ohio at Lux Art Institute, Glazed porcelain, 2012
Susan Graham
Born: Dayton, Ohio Live and Works: New York, NY Education: Bachelors of Fine Arts, Sculpture, The Ohio State University, OH Exhibitions (selected): 2022-2023 - Insomnia/Obscura, Century House Historical Society, Rosendale NY 2006 - Beautiful Ohio, Mixed Greens Gallery, New York, NY; 2022 - The Container Garden, Sears–Peyton Gallery, New York, NY; 2021 - Spring Selections, Sears-Peyton Gallery, New York, NY; 2020 - Material/Fiber, Radial Gallery, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH; 2017 - Light in the Dark, Sears-Peyton Gallery, New York, NY; 2016 - Up In Arms: Taking Stock Of Guns, Brattleboro Museum, Brattleboro, VT; 2014 - Hooray for Hollywood, Pavel Zoubek Gallery and Mixed Greens Gallery, New York, NY. Awards, Grants, and Artist Residencies (selected): 2011 - Studio Residency, Smack Mellon Studios, Brooklyn, New York; 2003 -Fellowship Recipient-New York Foundation for the Arts; 2001 - Pollock-Krasner Foundation, Sculpture Grant