Recent article in Coeval Magazine:   http://www.coeval-magazine.com/art/susan-metzger

Catalog Available

Choreographing a Collection: The Dr. Beatrice H. Barrett Collection of Art

 “…As such it is a bridge to the most recent works collected by Barrett which function less like portraits than like x-rays  revealing the tranquil interior realms inhabited by her ageless spirit. Among these are the luminous land and seascape paintings of Susan Metzger. Somewhat reminiscent of the works of Caspar David Friedrich in their ability to evoke a  sense of the sublime, mysterious 'other', Metzger’s Near the Edge and Ocean of Aspens provide Barrett a glimpse of her “soul home”.

Martha’s Vineyard Times

 “…The work is at once accessible and mysterious. At first glance, the viewer sees a luscious overall impression of a natural place. The paintings, though, are not impressionistic, nor are they figurative. They do not depict a specific image or object. These works entice the viewer much the same way as would a look at any actual landscape. Reality is complex as it reveals layer after layer of experience and meaning…Susan Metzger’s landscapes attract viewers by the distance and tranquility they evoke. The confluence of colors, watery and atmospheric, bring “About Perfection” and “From the Pond” into fluid abstraction. Metzger’s work is mostly about wide open outdoor space. The artist creates a sense of natural vastness even in her smaller works, and she manages to distill a landscape without losing the connection to it.”

Vineyard Gazette - Diane Nichols

 “…The spare, ethereal paintings of Susan Metzger are a beautiful counterpoint to the complex patterns of the mosaic pieces. Ms. Metzger’s new work “COAST” occupies one room of the gallery. The blue, translucent atmosphere that these remarkable paintings evoke as they relate to each other makes the room a contemplative environment. These paintings, too, are the result of a painstaking process. Her Renaissance technique lends the paintings a sense of profound authority. They make one think that Giorgione has painted Outer Space…These paintings at once distill the essence of the Vineyard sea and air and also make a generalized statement. “When the local becomes the universal to the extent that everybody who looks at it “gets it”, she says, “that is a transforming experience.” This explains how fine works of art that everybody who looks at it “gets it”, she says, “that is a transforming experience.” This explains how fine works of art refer to something greater than themselves, how the local is transcended. The recurring horizon line of the “coast” paintings provides a thread of commonality. Everyone understands immediately what that reference is. It goes beyond religion, race and geography. In one sense this is not the local landscape; it is cosmic. Clouds, space, water and air are the subjects of these minimal landscapes, far more involved than color field painting. They work through reduction and simplification yet without sacrificing complexity…”

Boston Globe - Christine Temin

 “…Susan Metzger’s paintings are landscapes pared to the point where they’re identifiable only by horizon lines separating sky and sea…. Metzger’s paintings gain their power, though, from their simplicity…”

Art New England Review of Cambridge Art Association National Juried Prize Show

 “…Susan Metzger’s lovely and diminutive landscape painting Ocean of Aspens is timeless, but the sense of nostalgic reverie for a lost world seems completely contemporary.”

Portland Press Herald – Maine Sunday Telegram – Philip Isaacson (CMCA Biennial 2008)

 “…I also point out the immaculate stillness in Susan Metzger’s painting “What to Count On”. It offers a landscape distilled into discreet ideals of space and form.

High Water Catalog

"Susan's ethereal seascapes are seductive, enticing viewers to look at them and experience them as they would nature, layer by layer.  She uses bands of color to create wide-open spaces with translucent atmospheres creating a sense of mystery and natural vastness.  The result is a body of work that transforms the beauty of the sublime into a transcendental space.  A few of the paintings are only identifiable as seascapes by the softly painted horizon lines, or bursts of white brushstrokes that separate sky from sea.  The complexity of her technique in building each piece by slowly applying layers of color, combined with the simplicity of the imagery gives the work present and power."

Aarhus Gallery

“Susan Metzger is showing a new body of work at Belfast’s Aarhus Gallery. Her new paintings constitute a small but significant departure - the atmospheric bands of color suggesting a landscape’s limitless horizon are still there, but there is also an important shift toward representation of two subjects. One group of works contains an area of focus, of literalness, in which a single wave crashes in a swirl of white. The other series is inspired by images of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig burning in the middle of a vast watery expanse…dark brooding presences amidst calmness. Erupting from an indefinite area of color that we read as fire, black/blue/grey columns of smoke arise like tornadoes of foreboding. The horrific, sublime, and romantic are all covered in these new paintings which vibrate with the tension between threat and lucidity.”