In my gallery work I am called to represent midwest artists to the greater, international art market.  I represent artists who share my love of materiality.  The materials we work with drive much of our output.

For me, the computer aided, industrial textile practice encourages great experimentation with color perception, texture and form.  I stretch the expectations of sculpture, making hard edged objects from soft materials.

For those I represent in Susan Hensel Gallery, like Ingrid Restemayer, the unusual combination of traditional printmaking practices with the slow, contemplative work of hand stitching creates a space to slow down.

For K. Daphnae Koop, recovery of the beauty of  discarded wood and stone, opens up a poetic practice that searches, digs, carves, paints and re-discovers beauty.

For Nina Martine Robinson, the repetitive stitching  recovers the historic labor of women and presents it in new forms.

Sculptor Kim Matthews engages with materials from a modernist perspective in a manner consistent with a years long meditation practice.  To be in the presence of her colorful sculptures, both large and small, it both a peaceful and a playful experience.

Linda King Ferguson, makes lush, quiet, minimalist paintings and drawings that evoke a sense of wonder, through the interaction of her materials with color and the way she cuts and reveals the interior space.  Her wall work paradoxically retains a sculptural sense of objecthood while still being, absolutely, painting.

Martha Bird, a joyful basketmaker, believes in the healing nature of art.  She works with multiple materials, but especially willow and the new exciting sweetgrass she grows in her urban yard. Thoroughly skilled in traditional forms, her artwork expands far beyond the expectations placed on the qutideon notion of the “basket.”

We all share the need to touch and manipulate our materials.  We all need to look deeply, within ourselves and toward the world we help create. Philosophically, I think you will see a certain throughline of contemplation, perhaps even spirituality. And, certainly, at Susan Hensel Gallery, you will always see beautiful, well-made objects that can enrich your life.