Susan Seddon Boulet: A Retrospective Capa dura - 2000

Susan Seddon Boulet (American, b. Brazil, 1941-1997) lived life in search of the magnificent. As a child growing up on a Brazilian farm, she developed an abiding affection for animals, making them her first artistic subjects and portraying them in colorful, lively sketches. From these simple roots, creating art became central to her life. Boulet developed a unique style, an inspired vision suffused with detail, texture, and color. Her artwork reflects her innermost journey, beginning with fairy tales and evolving into powerful archetypal figures that welled up from what Carl Jung once called "the deepest springs of life." In the decades since Boulet's death, her artwork has continued to move and inspire people all over the world. Boulet is also known for her finely detailed portraits within portraits-explorations of mysterious dreams, visions, and spiritual symbols. For these paintings she drew inspiration from folklore and myth as well as shamanic and Native American traditions. Working primarily with oil pastels and ink, Boulet brought into being a numinous dimension displayed in vivid, breathing detail. Her highly personal style offers glimpses of other worlds. Seen for the first time, her images can feel familiar, known at some profound level; they often resonate with those in search of a personal truth. Even as Boulet explored the darker aspects of the psyche in her work and began her long struggle with cancer, she retained the energy, honesty, and warmth that endeared her to so many. This retrospective by Michael Babcock recounts her artistic development and celebrates her extraordinary personal journey. It includes more than two hundred reproductions of her paintings, some never before published.