Susan J. Barron
Susan J. Barron (COM’80) of Old Saybrook, Conn., writes that her recent body of work, Depicting the Invisible, a portrait series of veterans suffering from PTSD, premiered at the HG Contemporary Gallery in New York City in November 2018. The portraits are oversize, mixed media, black-and-white works on canvas that combine photographic imagery, paint, collage, and text. “The portraits are layered with the subjects’ stories in their own words. The elegance of the images contrasts with the brutality of the narratives depicted. I was inspired to do this work when I learned that 22 veterans commit suicide every day in this country. I want to shine a light on the epidemic of PTSD and suicide and give these veterans a platform to tell their stories.” The work will be on exhibit at the National Military Museum and Memorial in Columbus, Ohio, from September 2020 to January 2021 and at the Hunter Museum of American Art in Tennessee from July 2020 to June 2021. Her documentary, also called Depicting the Invisible, tells the story of the epidemic of PTSD and suicide among US veterans, and shows Susan creating her portrait series. The documentary won Best Documentary Short at the New York City International Film Festival 2019. An art book of the portrait series was published in 2018 and promptly sold out.
From the Winter-Spring 2020 issue.