Suzanne Kanatsiz was born in Detroit, Michigan. She is an artist who works with sculpture and installations. She lives in Ogden, Utah.

Kanatsiz earned a BFA in painting from San Diego State University in 1982 and an MFA in pictorial arts and sculpture from San Jose State University in 1988. The materials she uses in her sculptures are diverse and often include combinations of the organic mixed with machined or manufactured materials.

The Utah Arts Council has recognized Kanatsiz's work with an Individual Artist Grant Award (2001) and a Visual Arts Fellowship (2003). Cone, a steel lead sculpture, andDissolution, a mixed media installation, are examples of her work.

Information on this page was adapted from information the artist provided.

Her life's commitment has been to remain an actively working artist. Her undergraduate degree is a B.A. in painting from San Diego State University and her M.F.A. degree is from San Jose State University in installation/sculpture. After receiving her M.F.A., the decade following was very prolific. She produced large, installation works at a diversity of galleries and public spaces in the Bay Area and San Francisco. Many of these projects were publicly funded, and received significant media coverage and audience attendance.

After years of creating installations, she decided to focus on possibilities of experimental projects engaging space, drawing, the landscape, and the object. Presently, she creates sculptural environments where pieces exist in relationship to one another similar to an installation, without an emphasis on the temporal. She also creates a series of large format drawings in blood. Currently, she is producing several experimental works for future exhibitions nationally.

In conjunction with her work as an artist, she has developed a love for teaching, and has taught a diversity of community populations in California. In 1995, she became an Assistant Professor at the University of Nevada, Reno teaching studio art and directing the Gallery on campus. She taught a diversity of studio art classes including painting, drawing, intermedia sculpture, and curating and showcasing a diversity of artists.

In 1999, she accepted a position at Weber State University in northern Utah as an Associate Professor of Sculpture. During this time, she completed a large public art commission, had several exhibitions, primarily in the west, and experimented in the landscape with site-specific work. She has received many grants and awards for her work, the most recent being a $5,000 artist's fellowship from the Utah Arts Council. Currently,she is a tenured, full Professor at W.S.U.. Please visit her web site at http://programs.weber.edu/sculpture to see images of work and vitae.

Suzanne Kanatsiz

EDUCATION

• 1988 Master of Fine Arts, Pictorial Arts, Sculpture, San Jose State University, California
• 1982 Bachelor of Arts, Painting, San Diego State University, California
• 1979-80 Emphasis Painting, California State University Long Beach, California
• 1979 Associate of Arts Degree, Grossmont College, California

AWARDS

• 2004 -Lindquist Endowment, Grant Award, Weber State University
• 2003 -Hemingway Vitality Grant Award, Weber State University
• 2003 -Artist's Fellowship Award, $5,000, Utah Arts Council
• 2002 -Lindquist Endowment, Grant Award, Weber State University
• 2002 -Hemingway Vitality Grant Award, Weber State University
• 2002 -Higher Education Technology Initiative, Weber State University, Grant Award
• 2002 -Weber State University, Research and Scholarship Grant Award
• 2002 -Utah Arts Council, Individual Artist Grant
• 2000 -Weber State University, Research and Scholarship, Grant Award
• 1999 -Nevada Arts Council, Individual Artist Grant
• 1999 -Sierra Arts Foundation, Nevada, Individual Artist Grant Award
• 1999 -Nevada Arts Council, Special Projects, Instructor, Grant Award
• 1998 -Connemara Conservancy Foundation, Sculpture Commision, Dallas, Texas
• 1998 -Nevada Arts Council, Individual Project Grant Award
• 1998 -Artist's Fellowship Grant Award, $5,000, Nevada Arts Council
• 1998 -International Activities Grant Award, University of Nevada, Reno
• 1997 -Nevada Arts Council, Special Projects, Instructor, Grant Award
• 1997 -Nevada Arts Council, Individual Project Grant Award
• 1997 -Junior Faculty Research Award, $10,000, University of Nevada, Reno
• 1996 -Sierra Arts Foundation, Nevada, Individual Artist Grant Award
• 1995 -Palos Verdes Art Center, Bechstrand Gallery, California, Cash Award
• 1995 -The Helen Wurlitzer Foundation, Taos, New Mexico, residency, grant recipient
• 1994 -The Island Institute, Sitika, Alaska, residency, grant recipient
• 1994 -Lied Children's Discovery Museum, Las Vegas, Nevada, $3,000 grant recipient
• 1994 -The William James Association Enhancement Grant, grant recipient
• 1991-94 -California Arts Council, Artist-in-Residence, $31,000 grant recipient
• 1993 -Ucross Foundation, Clearmont, Wyoming, residency grant
• 1992 -Capp St. Project, San Francisco, California, $4,000 Experimental Projects Award
• 1991 -San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, nominated, SECA Award for outstanding contribution in the visual arts
• 1989 -Valley Foundation of Santa Clara County, $21,000 grant recipient
• 1987 -Banff Centre for the Arts, Alberta, Canada, Interchange residency, scholarship
• 1986 -Hayward Forum of the Arts, California, Purchase Award

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

• 2003 -Trance, The Bush Barn Art Museum, Salem, Oregon
• 2003 -Fellowship Exhibition, Rio Grande Gallery, Salt Lake City, Utah
• 2003 -Solo Exhibition, Finch Lane Gallery, Salt Lake City, Utah
• 2002 -Entropy, Nicolaysen Art Museum, Casper, Wyoming
• 2002 -Dissolution, Charleston Heights Gallery, Las Vegas, Nevada
• 2001 -Sculpture Commission, Connemara Conservancy, Dallas, Texas
• 2000 -Dreamings, The Nevada Museum of Art, Reno, Nevada
• 1999 -Dreamings, Boise State University, Boise, Idaho
• 1998 -The Mandala Series, Sheppard Gallery, University of Nevada, Reno
• 1998 -New Work, San Jose City College Gallery, San Jose, California
• 1997 -Dwellings, Stevenson Gallery, Southern Oregon State University, Ashland, Oregon
• 1996 -Water Weight, Southern Nevada Community College, Las Vegas, Nevada
• 1995 -The Inside Passage, Site Gallery, 719 W. 7th Street, Los Angeles, California
• 1994 -Tribal Vision, 1078 Gallery, 738 W. 5th Street, Chico, California
• 1992 -House of Myths, Capp Street Project, San Francisco, California, Installation
• 1990 -Emptying, Site Installation/Performance, 374 Arguello St., San Francisco, California
• 1990 -Studio ZOK, Site Installation/Performance, 865 Florida St., San Francisco, California
• 1989 -Permanent Public Site-Specific Installation, 16th Street at 3rd Ave., China Basin, District, San Francisco, California
• 1989 -Politics of Place, Detroit 1967, The Lab Gallery, 1805 Divisadero, San Francisco, California, Site Installation
• 1988 -Artifacts, San Jose State University, Gallery 2, San Jose, California, Installation
• 1987 -Extended Drawing, Sun Gallery, Hayward, California, Installation
• 1986 -Three-Dimensional Drawing, San Jose State University, Gallery 6, San Jose, California, Installation

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

• 1999- Associate Professor, Sculpture, Weber State University, Ogden, UT
• 1995-99 Assistant Professor/Gallery Director, University of Nevada, Reno
• 1990-95 New Genre Instructor, William James Association, Santa Cruz, California
• 1989-95 Sculpture Instructor, Creativity Explored of San Francisco, California
• 1989-91 Associate Director, The Eye Gallery, San Francisco, California
• 1987-89 Painting Instructor, Creativity Unlimited, San Jose, California
• 1986-88 Lecturer, Drawing Instructor, San Jose State University, California

PROFESSIONAL INSTRUCTOR

• 1991-96 Experimental Sculpture/Poetry, California Correctional Center, Susanville, CA
• 1993-95 Wood Sculpture, Deuel Vocational Institution, Tracy, California
• 1991-94 Site-Specific Installation, Correctional Training Facility, Soledad, California
• 1992-93 InterMedia, Pelican Bay Correctional Facility, Crescent City, California
• 1993 Sculpture, Blaine Street Women's Facility, Santa Cruz, California
• 1992 Sculpture, Watsonville County Jail, Santa Cruz, California
• 1992 InterMedia, Chouchilla Women's Correctional Facility, Fresno California
• 1992 InterMedia, Vacaville Medical Facility, California
• 1992 Outdoor Sculpture, Sierra Conservation Center, Jamestown, California
• 1990 Site-Specific Installation, Rest Stop Support Center for people with AIDS, San Francisco, California

To contact this artist email: skanatsiz@weber.edu

Biography courtesy of the artist.

Newspaper Articles

"A Separate Peace." Las Vegas Weekly, June 19, 2002.

"A Vast Range of Art, Picturing Sierra Takes Us to the Mountaintop." Reno Gazette Journal, October 9, 1998.

"Annual Outdoor Sculpture Show." Dallas Morning News, January 17, 2001

"Artistic Freedom in Confinement." Orion, April 19, 1994.

"Arts Briefs." The Salt Lake Tribune, May 19, 2001.

"Can an Artist Make It Big in Reno." Reno News and Review, July 1, 1998.

"Coats of Many Colors." Daily Breeze, November 9, 1995.

"Coming Up: Visual Arts." The Salt Lake Tribune, April 2, 2000.

"Connemara Spring Sculpture Show." Dallas Morning News, March 23, 2001.

"Dreamings." Reno Gazette Journal, December 9, 1999.

"Dressing Up the Gallery." Beach Reporter, November 9, 1995.

"Exhibit Explores Water Mysteries." Las Vegas Journal, October 23, 1996.

"Exhibition Feature's Ogden's Kanatsiz." Standard Examiner, November 12, 2003.

"Faculty Art Show, Disturbing Mix." Sagebrush, September 18, 1995.

"Figures." Reno News and Review, July 22, 1998.

"Finch Lane Gallery." Standard Examiner, January 11, 2003.

"In Art World, All's Possible." Press Enterprise, September 14, 2000.

"In Our Own Backyard." Reno News and Review, November 5, 1998.

"Mirror, Mirror at the Museums." San Bernadino Sun, October 26, 2000.

"New Work Brings Ethereal Beauty to Art Gallery." Times, April 23, 1998.

"Nicolaysen Opens Exhibits." Standard Tribune, September 19, 2002.

"Page Turners." Chico News and Review, April 19, 2001.

"San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art." San Jose Mercury News, November 4, 1987.

"Showing at Local Galleries." The Deseret News, November 2, 2003.

"Showing at Local Galleries." The Deseret News, February 9, 2003.

"Strictly Contemporary, Sculpture as an Artistic Antidote." Los Angeles Times, October 26, 1995.

"SU Gallery Exhibits Site-Specific Installation." Siskyou, October 30, 1997.

"Suzanne Kanatsiz Challenges Mandala Style." Sagebrush, November 15, 1998.

"The Mandala Series at Sheppard Gallery." Sparks Tribune, November 27, 1998.

"Transforming Space." Statesman Journal, November 25, 2003.

"Tribal Vision, A Compelling Work." Chico Enterprise-Record, 2004.

"Utah Marquee: Visual Art." The Salt Lake Tribune, January 2, 2004.

"Utah Marquee: Visual Art." The Salt Lake Tribune, September 19, 2003.

"Utah Marquee: Visual Art." The Salt Lake Tribune, February 14, 2003.

"Utah Arts Council Individual Artists Grants for March 2001." The Deseret News, April 29, 2001.

"Visual Works Note Import of Poet Rumi." Press Enterprise, October 2000.

"Yard Work." Plano Morning News, March 9, 2001.

Books

Experimental Projects. Capp Street Project, the Artists. San Francisco, CA: Experimental Projects, 1993.

Larson, Susan C., Suzanne Kanatsiz, and Bonnie Grossman. Memories and Visions: Self-taught and Outsider Artists West of the Rockie. Reno, NV: University of Nevada, 1996.

Nevada Museum of Art. From Exploration to Conservation, Picturing the Sierra Nevada. Reno, NV: Nevada Museum of Art, 1998.

Nevada Institute for Contemporary Art. Five Easy Pieces. Las Vegas, NV: Nevada Institute for Contemporary Art, 1997.

Paris Gibson Square Museum. Art Equinox, A Regional Survey of Contemporary Art. Great Falls, MO: Paris Gibson Square Museum, 1999.

Refusalon Gallery. Stirred Not Shaken. San Francisco, CA: Refusalon Gallery, 1997.

Robert V. Fullerton. Mirror of the Invisible, Contemporary Artists Reflecting on Rumi and Islamic Mysticism. Los Angeles, CA: Robert V. Fullerton Art Museum, 2000.

Utah Arts Council. 2003 Utah Fellowship Awards. Salt Lake City, UT: Utah Arts Council, 2003.

Periodicals

Batchelder, A. "New Lines." Fiberarts, March/April 1996.

Crosby, Gregory. "Radiant City Arts, Five Easy Pieces." SCOPE, November 1997.

15 Bytes. "Gallery Stroll – Salt Lake City Modern Love and Mundane Art." 15 Bytes, http://www.artistsofutah.org (accessed February 2003).

Garcia, Marcia. "Exhibition of Juried Show Winner." Westart, June 1987.

Golonu, Berin. "Mirror of the Invisible." Artweek, December 2000.

McCormack, Ed. "Allan Stone Gallery Celebrates 'Talent 1997' with a Spectacular Salon Show." ARTSPEAK, November 1997.

O'Brien, Draza Fratto. "Suzanne Kanatsiz at the Community College of Southern Nevada." Artweek, December 1996.

Sunset Magazine. "Picturing the Sierra Nevada." Sunset Magazine, October/November 1998.

Sierra Heritage Magazine. "Picturing the Sierra Nevada Exhibition." Sierra Heritage Magazine, December 1998.

Rameriz, Victoria. "Riding the Edge, Sculptor Suzanne Kanatsiz." Junction Magazine, March 2003.

Vincent, Zu. "Conceptually Bound." Artweek, June 2001.

White, Ken. "Dissolution, More than Words." Las Vegas Review Journal, July 2002.

Willmott, Gail. "Disability and Future Worlds." Kaleidoscope Magazine, Winter/Spring 1997.