Voyaging Tales

March 18, 2024 - June 17, 2024

Susan Metrican is drawn to images and objects that resonate across seemingly contrasting cultures and time periods. As a Thai American raised mostly in the Midwest, she is interested in imagery that is "culturally familiar" through its connection to folktales and shared traditions, particularly imagery that evokes a reverence for rural life.

Metrican's work engages with the traditions of making and exchange, through the construction of animal and nature motif paintings, often having the appearance of being "well-worn" or "inherited". Her work acknowledges motifs that have been translated across multiple formats, allowing the symbols, characters, and stories to connect and continue "Traveling" through time and space.

Susan Metrican is an artist living and working in Fairfield, Iowa. She received an MFA from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design and her BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute. Metrican is one of the founding members of kijidome, an experimental project space and collaborative in Boston, MA. She was previously the Curator at the Kniznick Gallery at Brandeis University. Metrican is currently the Director of the Wege Gallery and Assistant Professor in the Art Department at Maharishi International University, Iowa.

To see more of her work please visit susanmetrican.com.

Susan Metrican, Sea Snakes, 2022, acrylic on canvas, thread, and recycled cotton, 36" x 30.5" x 3.5"