Susan Weinreich show at Reynolds Fine Art opens Friday

Reynolds Fine Art
96 Orange St., New Haven, (203) 498-2200
Breaking the Boundaries: The Art of Susan Weinreich
Oct. 4—29, 2013.
Artist Reception: Fri., Oct. 4, 5—8 p.m.

Press release from Reynolds Fine Art

Reynolds Fine Art is pleased to offer a hand picked selection of early Vintage Drawings executed by the artist, Susan Weinreich, in the 1970’s. Raw and Frenetic, these drawings were created on the cusp of the artist’s descent into schizophrenia. Also included in this exhibition is a selection of signed black and white woodcut prints, powerfully bold and unique, produced from the 35 original blocks executed by Weinreich during the acute phase of her illness. A corresponding selection of the original blocks, themselves, will also be on display throughout the show. The exhibit concludes with significant and highly compelling large-scale pastels and mixed media works created during the early phase of Weinreich’s recovery.

"Art is the noblest way to make a seeming tragedy into the occasion of triumph. Susan Weinreich's drawings and paintings have that redemptive quality: they reach unabashedly into darkness and thrust into shattering clarity, telling the story of their sometimes tortured inspiration from a hard-earned place of safety. These brave pictures, suffused with intimacy, elaborate her unstinting gaze at both the smoothness of the world’s surfaces and the jagged turmoil of the human mind. Susan Weinreich is remarkable for the art she has made in sickness and in health, for the profound emergence from schizophrenia she has achieved, and for the intense self-awareness that has marked her recovery." — Andrew Solomon, PhD, is a writer and lecturer on politics, culture, psychology and the arts.

Woodcut by Susan Weinreich

Susan Weinreich is a celebrated American Artist, Lecturer and Mental Health Advocate whose paintings and drawings have been exhibited across the nation. At the request of galleries, universities, public corporations and private non-profit organizations, Susan has spoken in the United States and Canada about her art and the impact of her past illness on her life. Her art and life story have been featured in the national press, including the New York Times.

Originally diagnosed in 1975 with paranoid schizophrenia while attending the Rhode Island School of Design. Weinreich's recovery from her illness provides an important lesson for us all in the power of heroic commitment, perseverance and healing to affect change. Her work both as an advocate for those less fortunate and as an artist has made much impact on the lives of many people and their energy.

Ms. Weinreich's artwork is in the collection of numerous individuals, public and private, including, The William Jefferson Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, Arkansas, the World Corporate Headquarters of Eli Lilly in Indianapolis, Indiana, and the Four Winds Hospital, in Katonah, New York.

The show will be on display from Oct. 4—29 at Reynolds Fine Art located in New Haven’s historic 9th square on 96 Orange St. The show's opening reception will be held on Fri. Oct. 4.