Suzan Frecon
Unexplained, 1993, oil on linen, 66 x 106 inches.

The interview was conducted by Ilana Stanger of TheArtBiz.com.

Can you give me a brief sketch of your career?

I hate the term career. It sounds too professional. I just say my work as an artist, because the work comes first. I understand the need to show and be respected for that work, but the work has to be valid and worth showing.

And your work is in oil and watercolor exclusively, is that right?

I started with oil and I love oil. It's an ancient medium. It has a long history and it's difficult and challenging. Watercolor is a smaller part of my work, but my main focus, my real love, is ultimately oil. My watercolors seem to be more popular though--perhaps they’re more accessible. The oils involve a lot more work. It's almost like trying to compose a symphony versus writing or playing a phrase of music. Ideally each can be appreciated for what it is.

Is there pressure to create more watercolors?

I try to not let that pressure have any sway. I do what I need to do as an artist.

Where did you train in oil?

I mostly developed my work by looking at paintings, and by painting. I went to Penn State and majored in art. When I began at eighteen I had never been to a museum, yet I knew I wanted to paint. I went to class and looked at the slides and it just didn't make sense to me and I thought, 'I've got to go to Europe to learn about painting in depth and to look at real paintings.' I managed to get to Europe and look at the actual paintings and it made sense visually—why they were great, why certain painters were great. The more I looked the more I understood. It's so important to see the actual work.

In the beginning I was interested in story, in works by Brueghal and Bosch, but the more I looked the more I admired the paint itself. I looked at Velazquez and at Goya--I was in Spain at the time--and I saw that the paint was what made the painting successful. Later I went to Italy and saw Bellini and that affected my perception of color. I realized how important and vital color was for me.

And after you finished school?

After I graduated I lived in Paris for four years. It seemed vital that I move to Europe to live and work. I had no money, but I wanted to be there no matter what. I worked in a restaurant nights and painted during the day--I was always exhausted. They accepted me into the Beaux Arts [Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux Arts]. I was a student because it cost ten dollars enrollment and I could use the studio space, eat in the student restaurant, and live in the housing.

How have you supported yourself as a painter?

I taught for a few years at the School of Visual Arts. Then I got a job in textile painting, which was more money and less time. That made a difference in allowing me to work part-time. Now I can paint full-time. I don't live on a lot of money but I am pleased I can get by. It's nice to be able to devote my full energy to art. Painting takes a lot of hours, especially because I don't like to use assistants. I don't make my own stretchers anymore, but I do still sand my own grounds, etcetera. But all that takes a lot of time. I try to have priorities, and painting taking precedence.

Did you move to New York after you returned from Paris?

No. My husband had a job in Boston so we went there, and I hated it. I don't really like any of the work I did in Boston. Eventually I moved to New York. I had no money, and people said it would be too difficult, but just as I had to go to Europe after college I knew I had to move to New York. There was a rich and stimulating mental energy here, and I knew New York was an environment where my work could grow.

I had a hard time getting people to come to my studio to see my paintings, let alone getting them shown. I had an artist-friend, Ernst Caramelle, who championed my work. He was assertive and unintimidated, unlike me. I'd beg people to come, but they just wouldn't. Probably it was just as well--my work wasn't ready yet. Eventually Ernst met Jack Tilton and urged him to see my work. Jack gave me a show at his gallery [Jack Tilton Gallery]. Ernst got the director of the Kunstalle in Bern to see my work too, and he gave me a show with Ernst. After that people in Europe became more interested, since The Bern Kunstalle was considered to be prestigious. That was a big break. But it all built very slowly.

How did you end up signing with the Lawrence Markey gallery?

Lawrence saw Ernst's work at The Chicago Art Fair and wanted to do something with him. Lawrence was just starting out then and he didn't have a full "stable" yet. Ernst said, 'You must see this painter.' He called me and came down to see the work and offered me a show right away. It was one of those rare cases where it just happened right off the bat. Then the director of Hirschl & Adler Modern showed my work because he'd seen it at Lawrence Markey.

What advice would you give to emerging artists?

Try to make work that is exceptionally valid and worthy. It is your obligation and it isn't easy. I consider painting to be a high form of knowledge; it should be constructed so that, when successful, it will be illuminating and enlightening. It should raise consciousness. It should take you, as a viewer, outside of yourself, somewhere you haven’t been before. Art is a vital human need. I'm turned off by careerism. It's nice to get encouragement but it's necessary to get honest criticism. Just because you use paint doesn’t mean you're a painter.

What do you consider careerism?

Putting career success before the honest work of accomplishing the work. Over explaining your work. The work itself is the explanation. Trying to use people, acting aggressive, being a sycophant. If the work doesn't merit it, it's even more irritating. I don't believe in taking short cuts with art. But I sympathize with artists trying to get their work seen. Any worthy artist should have the chance to show their work, there should be public spaces for this. The proof of work is seeing it, not marketing.

One time I was complaining to a friend about being mistreated by the art world. 'What do you want after all, but the respect of your peers?’ he asked.

This article was originally created for TheArtBiz.com. It appears on NYFA Interactive courtesy of the Abigail Rebecca Cohen Library.