Suzie Buchholz is a Bay Area-based abstract painter with a playful yet rebellious approach to the tradition of Abstract Expressionism. Her process is highly physical, driven by an instinct for harmony of color and form. Inspired by the tangled and fragile moments of daily life, her work combines a gritty, street-wise sensibility with an uncanny, painterly tenderness.

Buchholz holds a BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute and Certificat from the Aterlier du Soliel, Aix en Provence, France. She is the recipient of several residencies, including Djerassi Artists Program, the Bay Area Discovery Museum, and Sant’Anna in Camprena, Pienza, Italy. Her work has been exhibited throughout the US and Europe, including Galerie Ruban Vert in Aix-en-Provence, France, Colorida Gallery in Lisbon, Portugal, Galerie Mani in Berlin, Germany and Galleria di Biblioteca in Pienza, Italy. A multimedia installation “Pills for Parents” was exhibited at Catharine Clark Gallery, San Francisco, and was part of the Zero1 Biennial. Her work is the collections of Presidio of San Francisco, Bay Area Discovery Museum, Djerassi and numerous corporate and private collections.

In the Studio

My studio sits just above a marina, overlooking the bay. There is a constant hum of activity here. There is also a comforting familiarity and orderly progression of the day—the ebb and flow of the tides, the  changing color palette of the light, warm to cool to warm again, reflecting on land, water and sky.

Inside my studio there is a messy orderliness. I work with oil paint and oil sticks, spreading their creaminess with scrapers and palette knives, brushes and chop sticks. When I start a painting there’s never a plan, and always surprises. The only knowns are the size of the canvas and that it will become covered with paint. Somehow time flies faster in the studio than in other places. It’s always hard to leave and a joy to return.