The Capital City Arts Initiative [CCAI] announces its exhibition, "Seven Sennings", by artist Suzanne Kanatsiz at the CCAI Courthouse Gallery from February 7 – May 29, 2014. CCAI will host a reception for the artist on Friday, February 7, 5-7pm. The Courthouse is located at 885 E Musser Street, Carson City. The reception and the exhibition are free and the public is cordially invited. The gallery is open to the public Monday – Friday, 8am – 5pm.
Ms. Kanatsiz created the series of large "Seven Sennings" drawings in reference to the wild mountain sages of ancient days of China and Japan who give no formal teaching but redeem all beings by the very purity of their enlightenment. She manipulated the translucent Dura-lar surface by directly rubbing pigment and graphite into the surface; then followed with liquids mixed with dry pigment. The result is a visual layering and dialogue between emotional chaos and iconic forms. She brings a figure into the drawing as an entity enduring various states of being: suspended in prolonged uncertainty, repression, and perseverance. Then the figure finally reaches a state of transformation.
During her visit to Carson City, Ms. Kanatsiz will give a talk about her work to art students at Dayton High School and at Sierra Nevada College.
Suzanne Kanatsiz is one of two daughters born to an American mother and Turkish father. She earned a MFA degree at San Jose State University. She has lived and traveled extensively in Europe and the Middle East, including a teaching appointment at Sabanci University in Istanbul, and a Fulbright scholarship in research and teaching at United Arab Emirates University. She has received numerous awards and exhibited her work both nationally and internationally. She has exhibited at prestigious venues such as the Allan Stone Gallery in New York, the Capp Street Project in San Francisco, and the Robert V. Fullerton Art Museum in Los Angeles. Her work is represented in numerous private and public art collections including the U.S. State Department Art in Embassies in Dubai, and in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Currently, she is living part time in Utah and in the United Arab Emirates. She is owner and fulltime artist of Suzanne Kanatsiz Studio, and is represented by “A” Gallery in Salt Lake City.
The Capital City Arts Initiative is an artist-centered organization committed to the encouragement and support of artists and the arts and culture of Carson City and the surrounding region. The Initiative is committed to community building for the area's diverse adult and youth populations through art projects and exhibitions, live events, arts education programs, artist residencies, and online projects.
CCAI is funded in part by the John Ben Snow Memorial Trust, Nevada Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts, City of Carson City, Nevada Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the John and Grace Naumann Foundation.