Chatham to host showcase of artist, Susan Bergman Gurrentz ’56
Chatham University will host Identity, Mystery, Spontaneity: The Art of Susan Bergman Gurrentz ’56, an exhibit celebrating a wide range of the artist’s work in a space named in her honor: The Susan Bergman Gurrentz ‘56 Art Gallery located on Chatham’s Shadyside Campus. The exhibition will run from August 1 through October 17 (Chatham’s Alumni Reunion Weekend), weekdays from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
After studying at Sarah Lawrence College and Chatham University, Gurrentz enjoyed a 50+ year career as a professional artist, painting portraits of individuals, families, and dignitaries from around the world. Additionally, she was constantly experimenting with different mediums—oils, watercolors, wood block, pastels, photography, and paper-making— and subjects—portraiture, including landscapes, abstracts, rodeos, wildlife, and especially flowers. Gurrentz’s work was displayed and sold in galleries nationally and internationally, and her paintings are hung in the collections of Chatham University, the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Pennsylvania, the Saudi Royal Family, as well as in many private collections.
While the gallery’s size prevents a full retrospective, this exhibition features a variety of the subjects Susan favored: portraiture, including an early self-portrait from the 1950s; images of animals; the people and landscapes she experienced as a world traveler; and, her close, clear-eyed examination of the limitless shapes and colors within flowers. The exhibition also highlights her aforementioned skill in diverse mediums, including oil on canvas, pastel, printmaking, and papermaking. The title of the exhibition draws on Susan’s own words; her artist statement is located at the entrance to the gallery and by the Café Rachel windows.
Additional information on her life and work can be found on her website biography and in a feature story in the Spring 2021 issue of The Recorder alumni magazine.
Support for Identity, Mystery, Spontaneity: The Art of Susan Bergman Gurrentz ’56 is provided by Rodger and Joan Gurrentz and the Gurrentz family.