MICHI SUSAN
(1925-2020)
In 2022, the Paseo Arts Association received the generous donation of over 80 artworks by the late Michi Susan from her estate and from local artist and friend of Michi, Jenny Woodruff. The artworks include Michi Susan’s Poem series, Wildflower series and more.
The PAA hosted an exhibition titled Celebrating Michi Susan in Gallery I & II of the Paseo Arts and Creativity Center in June 2022 and featured the artwork in Gallery III of the PACC for several months following the exhibition.
The remaining available artworks can be found below and are available for purchase. If you have any questions or are interested in purchasing, please call 405-525-2688 or email theresa@thepaseo.org
Photos provided by John Seward, Josh Vaughn and JRB Art at the Elms.
Dynasty Figure (Male), Walnut, birch, tiger, maple, leather. $1,200 -- If sold with Dynasty Figure (Female), Set for $2,000
Dynasty Figure - Female, Walnut, birch, tiger, maple, leather. $1,200 -- If sold with Dynasty Figure (Male), Set for $2,000
Folk Festival #101-12, Doll, Mixed Media, 36" x 23", $570
Folk Festival (doll), Mixed Media, 29” x 20”, $330
Coloring Each Others Lives poster, unframed $40, framed $90
Poem Haiku #2, 2016 Mixed Media on Paper 25 x 37 in, $800
Poem Haiku #6, 2016 Mixed Media on Paper 25 x 37 in, $800
Poem Haiku #4, 2016 Mixed Media on Paper 25" x 36 1/4", $800
Untitled, Black and Tan mixed media 50" x 17 .5", $900
Untitled, Black and Tan mixed media 25" x 17 .5", $900
ABOUT MICHI
A native of Tokyo, Japan, Michi Susan (1925-2020) called Oklahoma home for almost three decades. By the age of five, she knew she wanted to be an artist. She studied at Japan’s Women’s University and Hosei University and continued her studies in the United States. She was first attracted to the work of the realists, but eventually, she explored collage and mixed media, blending the delicate and the detailed in an extraordinary way. She said everything is worthy of a landscape collage – people, places and experiences. She believed “everyone interprets art differently and it speaks to people in many ways – if you feel a certain way from somebody’s painting, that’s it.” In 1978, Michi moved to Oklahoma City; and established her reputation as a mixed-media artist. An award-winning artist, she was internationally recognized and was included in many private and corporate collections. She received the Paseo Arts Association’s Artist of the Year Award in April of 2007.
Michi Susan was born in Tokyo, Japan, but Oklahoma has been her home for 39 years. Educated at Japan's Women's University and Hosei University, Susan continued her studies in the United States while visiting major European Art Centers. An award-winning artist, she was internationally exhibited and recognized. Michi knew when she was five years old that she wanted to be an artist. Fortunately, her parents nourished her interest and talent. At first, she was attracted to the work of the realists, but as her art evolved she explored the forms of collage and mixed media, blending the delicate and the detailed in an extraordinary way. Historic Living Magazine wrote of Michi Susan, "Asked about the integration of Oklahoma landscapes into her work, Susan said everything is a landscape, including people, places, ideas and experiences. She considered all her work 'landscapes,' and she became less concerned with making a philosophical statement with her art." Well, I certainly feel a sense of place when I look at Michi’s landscapes of torn paper, found objects, oriental calligraphy, and color pigments in all media, I see a special place, a place Michi created, that perfectly marries the familiarity of East and West.”
– Joy Reed Belt
Bio provided by JRB Art at the Elms.
