“I don’t paint places. I want to make something beautiful, to make something that escapes definition and explanation. I try to evoke emotions, to reach for what is felt rather than understood.”
Susan Wagner Ginter does far more than try to evoke emotions in her work. You can get lost in her oil on canvas and paper. Unfamiliar scenes somehow feel like memories.
Growing up in Minnesota and Florida made a strong impression on her, inspiring an appreciation for wide open spaces. ”The distant long view and horizon line has captured my imagination, and I have done a lot of work around that,” says Susan.
Her work varies greatly though, in both subject and style. Her landscape scenes can fade to minimalist pieces you would think were painted by another artist if each piece didn’t draw you in to it the same way.
Part of that may be the path her life has taken. While influenced by the plains, she has also lived in New York City, and now in Minneapolis. ”There are dark and quiet places there, too,” she says of NYC.
“It’s not worth it to me to paint unless I can get at an emotional result, to get someone to respond.”
That ability to find introspection anywhere is reflected in the way her paintings inspire it with many subjects, and goes a long way toward accomplishing her goal of evoking emotions through her work.
One page of Susan’s ever-evolving body of work is being written right now. ”My work has really begun to change and incorporate the abstract figure,” she tells me, then laughs and adds, “But it’s new and I don’t have any images, so I guess you’ll just have to stop by the studio and see!”
You can find Susan Wagner Ginter at the Solar Arts Building in the Northeast Minneapolis Arts District.