Two unique paintings, each measuring 36 x 30 Inches, executed 1984-88.

Appropriating discarded pieces of wallpaper, Susan Hiller brings new life to what is normally regarded as scraps and leftovers. By mounting the wallpaper onto canvas and placing an ink drawing at the center, Hiller creates a unique artwork through re-collecting, re-categorizing, and re-working our understanding of what was previously overlooked, highlighting how easily our perception can be altered.

American born Susan Hiller (b.1940) has lived and worked in London, UK since the 1970s. Inspired by elements of minimalism, fluxus, surrealism, and her studies in anthropology, Hiller creates works that she describes as “investigations into the ‘unconscious’ of our culture”. Using an array of basic and found materials, incorporating ephemeral and items that are often overlooked or discarded, emphasizing the way they are collected, categorized, and displayed, Hiller attempts to expose and dissolve fixed understandings and contradictions in our collective cultural life.

Hiller received her BA in 1961 from Smith College, Northampton, MA and her Ph.D. in Anthropology in 1965 from Tulane University, New Orleans, LA. In addition to the numerous fellowships she has received, including the National Foundation for the Arts Fellowship (1982) and the Guggenheim Fellowship in Visual Art Practice (1998), Hiller has been awarded two Gulbenkenian Foundation Visual Artist’s Awards (1976-77). She has exhibited throughout the world, with recent solo shows being mounted by Tate Britain, London, UK (2011); Timothy Taylor Gallery, London, UK (2011); Colby Museum of Art, Waterville, ME (2011); Galerie Karin Sachs, Munich, Germany (2010); Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco, CA (2009); and Joy Art, Beijing, China (2008).

Selected Public Collections:

Centre Georges Pompidou (Musée National d'Art Moderne), Paris, France
Centro de Arte Cpntemporanea Imhotim, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Ludwig Museum, Cologne, Germany
National Gallery of Art of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia
Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence, RI
Seibu Saison Corporation, Japan
Tate Gallery, London, UK
Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK