Susan Chen. Plan B

About

Notably, the show forges an impressive new artistic direction for Chen, whose multimedia presentation includes a collection of ceramics alongside her signature large-scale, impasto-heavy portraits. In addition to the opening reception Friday, March 8 from 6 - 8 pm; on Saturday, March 23, Rachel Uffner will host a talk featuring the artist in conversation with Karen Wong, the Cofounder and Chief Creative Officer of Guilty By Association.

Inherent to Chen’s practice is a tangible devotion to community best exemplified by her portrait-painting process. All 39 figures in her vibrant canvases were painted live, each invited by Chen to her studio for a 3-hour afternoon session, during which she painted their likeness and listened to their stories. Some individuals Chen met at Planned Parenthood events, while others responded to her open call requests on related online forums. Chen envisions these individuals as active participants in the art-making process and as advocates for the mission and conversations her paintings hope to generate to a wider public audience.

Chen’s topics of interest are varied, ranging from political to personal to professional, but all are made buoyantly clear in her vivid, almost cartoon-like compositions. In “The Paintings Are Not Going to Paint Themselves”, a humorous studio scene unfolds. While Chen’s assistants bustle about the workroom, carrying books, mixing paint, drawing sketches, Chen herself hides tearfully beneath a table, curled up in fetal position. Subverting the long, male tradition of solitary self-portraits of the artist-genius, Chen celebrates her own studio team in a playfully self-effacing narrative, highlighting the often- overlooked labor of assistants, art handlers, and other support staff in the industry.