SUSAN HAMLET: Biography

Susan Hamlet received her BA from Mount Holyoke College and her MFA degree from the Rochester Institute of Technology. She teaches jewelry/metals in Artisanry in the College of Visual and Performing Arts.

Hamlet's work has been featured in numerous exhibitions worldwide including invitational exhibitions at the Art Gallery of Western Australia/Perth, the Musee des Arts Decoratifs/Paris, the Linzer Instut fur Gestaltung, Linz, Austria, and the Kulturhuset, Stockholm, Sweden. She has had numerous national exhibitions as well.

In 1979 and 1988, Susan received a Craftsman's Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. Major commissions include work for the AT&T Infomart in Dallas, TX, Bank One Center in Cleveland, OH, and Doctor David and Lynn Burkett of Monroe, Louisiana. Her work is included in the following selected collections: Ronald Abramson, Washington, D.C., American Craft Museum, New York, NY, Coopers Lybrant Corp., Columbus, Ohio, Malcolm and Sue Knapp, New York, NY, Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, Japan, Robert Pfannebecker, Lancaster, PA

Artist Statement:

Out of my growing appreciation for historical metalwork and ornamental language, I seek to combine 'known' elements in ways to yield an imaginary world where the likely and unlikely collide or collaborate. My jewelry and metalwork incorporates metaphor, allusion, and associations both literal and obscure toward lyrical expression. Through this use of imagery within wearable or functional formats, I strive to offer an array of clues to enjoy and reflect upon.