Visual Arts
Artist Profile: Susan Gunn Award-winning artist Susan Gunn has just left her mark permanently on a new, ground-breaking building at the University of East Anglia campus in Norwich. The Enterprise Centre, which opened in October, is now home to one of Susan's prodigious art installations, the stunning 20metre painting entitled Terra Memoria. Susan, who is married to former Norwich City goalkeeper Bryan Gunn, has spent the last 16 months creating and perfecting the painting. 'I was particularly drawn to the atrium space and the natural light emanating from the Memorial Gardens, a conservation area situated beyond The Enterprise Centre,' says Susan. 'I chose to record the idea of offset vertical divisions in the canvas to reflect the rhythm and sway of the tree lined gardens opposite.' Susan graduated from Norwich University of the Arts in 2004 with a firstclass BA Hons Degree in Fine Art. Just a year later, she was selected for the Escalator Project after being nominated by Amanda Geitner, chief curator at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts. 'This was a fantastic opportunity for me as it gave me access to invaluable guidance and professional support at the start of my career,' says Susan. 'Amanda Geitner was able to introduce me to the artist Callum Innes, who I was incredibly inspired by.'
Norfolk &Norwich Festival. The curator of that exhibition, Cherry Smyth was so impressed, she nominated Susan for the prestigious Sovereign European Art Prize for her piece Specto Specus. 'I was surprised and thrilled to be short-listed,' says Susan. 'The whole process culminated in an exhibition at Bonhams in London. There were artists from 33 European countries selected and I was in awe that I'd got that far. So when I was announced as the winner, I could scarcely believe it.' The prize of 25,000 euros enabled Susan to set herself up as a professional artist.
Spec to Specus
Since then, Susan hasn't looked back. Her latest work Terra Memoria, made from natural earth pigments and an authentic glue binder to explore and develop the material of traditionally made gesso, spans the length of the Enterprise Centre's lecture theatre entrance. The Enterprise Centre is open to the public Monday to Friday, 9-5pm if anyone would like to view the installation. 'After the excitement of Terra Memoria, I'm now concentrating on my solo show which is taking place at Mandell's Gallery, Norwich in February,' says Susan. 'Despite moving to Cheshire four years ago, the city of Norwich is still very dear to me.'
www.susangunn.co.uk Terra Memoria
As part of the project, Susan's work was shown at an exhibition at The Great Eastern Hotel in London, as part of the
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