{"id":40,"date":"2015-07-28T07:17:38","date_gmt":"2015-07-28T07:17:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/diversionsla.com\/?p=40"},"modified":"2016-07-28T23:27:07","modified_gmt":"2016-07-28T23:27:07","slug":"susan-amorde","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/susan-amorde\/","title":{"rendered":"Susan Amorde"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3535\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3535\" style=\"width: 648px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/AMORDE-Studio-WIde-view.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-3535\" src=\"http:\/\/diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/AMORDE-Studio-WIde-view-683x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Installation photos by SDK Photo &amp; Design\" width=\"648\" height=\"972\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/AMORDE-Studio-WIde-view-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/AMORDE-Studio-WIde-view-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/AMORDE-Studio-WIde-view-648x972.jpg 648w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/AMORDE-Studio-WIde-view-128x192.jpg 128w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 648px) 100vw, 648px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3535\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>From riveting figures to figurative baggage, sculptor and installation artist Susan Amorde explores the intersection of the human body and human emotions. Her figures evoke the wonder, majesty, and humor that make up life itself; her installations evoke the need for change and our reluctance, as a species, to let go.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Susan-3.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4236\" src=\"http:\/\/diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Susan-3.jpg\" alt=\"Susan 3\" width=\"960\" height=\"909\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Susan-3.jpg 960w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Susan-3-300x284.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Susan-3-648x614.jpg 648w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Susan-3-203x192.jpg 203w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Amorde works primarily from live models with her figurative work, creating her sculptures in terra cotta clay, hydrocal, bronze, wax, and mixed media. Sculptures such as \u201cLeaning Left Bookend or Not\u201d and \u201cLeaning Right Bookend or Not,\u201d are supple bronze figures that seem to be melting into the thick bronze blocks on which they\u2019re reclining. Long-legged and curvy, these women evoke the longing to move, and the comfort of remaining in place. Also reclining is the full color vibrancy of \u201cMaura,\u201d a hydrocal figure on a terry-cloth pool raft. Maura is a big bodied, jubilant nude, smiling at an unseen sun, amusing us with her dominance and joy, a whimsical figure with an edge. Mixing hydrocal and bronze on a marble base, \u201cShadow (The King)\u201d is a stately bust of a young man wearing a crown. Study him to see his vulnerability, arrogance, longing; a shadow of the youth and power that will fade in time is etched in his eyes. \u201cMy practice explores the human form and emotions as we navigate life\u2019s challenges,\u201d Amorde says. Her expressionist style is beautifully suited for this twinned exploration.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Susan-2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4235\" src=\"http:\/\/diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Susan-2.jpg\" alt=\"Susan 2\" width=\"450\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Susan-2.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Susan-2-169x300.jpg 169w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Susan-2-108x192.jpg 108w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>More surreal, Amorde\u2019s series \u201cBaggage\u201d is the artist\u2019s \u201cpersonal examination of the universal themes associated with how what we carry around impacts our identity.\u201d Using mixed media to explore both the literal and metaphorical meaning of baggage, the artist works from the premise that everyone carries some baggage with them in life, whether figurative, metaphysical, or emotional. Amorde \u201cinvestigates how such baggage is perceived, how it feels, and how it impacts the living of our lives.\u201d Integrating her sculptures with suitcases, suitcase parts, and other mixed media and found objects, many of her installations are large scale, as sweeping in scope as the baggage that we all carry in our lives. Amorde has plans for future works in this series that will include found objects, audio and video.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Susan-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4234\" src=\"http:\/\/diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Susan-1.jpg\" alt=\"Susan 1\" width=\"800\" height=\"741\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Susan-1.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Susan-1-300x278.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Susan-1-648x600.jpg 648w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Susan-1-207x192.jpg 207w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Like her subjects, Amorde doesn\u2019t travel light. Each piece in the \u201cBaggage\u201d series is quite literally freighted with meaning. \u201cZebra and the Red Pillow,\u201d a mixed media and polychromed ceramic work, features a dazzlingly white and zebra-striped woman with haunted eyes lying on a red pillow which is positioned inside a zebra-striped travel bag.<\/p>\n<p>She\u2019s made her bed and isn\u2019t sure she wants to lie in it, and is certainly not ready for the lid to close. Her long, pale, striped body is a part of that bag and she an evocation of it, and the life she\u2019s made for herself. \u201cUntitled (Baggage Station)\u201d is a massive 7 ft. by 7 ft. mixed media installation of a variety of suitcases positioned on wooden storage shelves. The shapes and positioning of the suitcases &#8211; in all sizes and colors &#8211; reminds the viewer of people waiting to travel, waiting to perhaps shed their outer skin or inner problems and pass on without the baggage both imply.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Susan-5.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-4233\" src=\"http:\/\/diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Susan-5-1024x651.jpg\" alt=\"Susan 5\" width=\"648\" height=\"412\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Susan-5-1024x651.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Susan-5-300x191.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Susan-5-648x412.jpg 648w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Susan-5-302x192.jpg 302w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Susan-5.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 648px) 100vw, 648px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWounded Baggage\u201d joins a dart board studded with bloody arrows to the surface of an aging green suitcase. Both immediately accessible and defiantly surreal, the piece calls the viewer to understand, and challenges the idea of literally carrying on in the face of adversity. The artist seems to posit the question &#8211; just what are we carrying on?<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Susan-4.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4237\" src=\"http:\/\/diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Susan-4.jpg\" alt=\"Susan 4\" width=\"693\" height=\"960\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Susan-4.jpg 693w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Susan-4-217x300.jpg 217w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Susan-4-648x898.jpg 648w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Susan-4-139x192.jpg 139w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 693px) 100vw, 693px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Both Amorde\u2019s figures and installation art have a mystical quality that belies the intensity of her expression. \u201cI am drawn to sculpting the human form in narratives about challenges and mysteries in life. Equally appealing to me are portraits and studies of the figure that are celebrations of individuality. For me, sculpting people and their \u2018baggage\u2019 provides me with an endlessly fascinating journey of creative expression,\u201d Amorde says.<\/p>\n<p>The Los Angeles based artist was born in Washington, D.C., grew up in LA, and has a BFA from California State University, Long Beach. She recently exhibited at the Zero Down exhibition at 1019 West in Inglewood, the DAB Art Ventura at the HUD Gallery in Ventura, Calif. and the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery (LAMAG) in Los Angeles\u2019 Barnsdall Park. Exhibiting since 2000, Amorde has shown at Gallery 825, the TAG Gallery in Santa Monica, Gallery Godo in Glendale, and at the Getty Underground at the J. Paul Getty Museum\/Villa in Malibu, Calif. among many other galleries and museums.<\/p>\n<p>Amorde lives in Los Angeles and maintains a studio in Inglewood, Calif. Exhibiting both locally and nationally, she\u2019s on the web at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.susanamorde.com\">www.susanamorde.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; Amorde works primarily from live models with her figurative work, creating her sculptures in terra cotta clay, hydrocal, bronze, wax, and mixed media. Sculptures such as \u201cLeaning Left Bookend or Not\u201d and \u201cLeaning Right Bookend or Not,\u201d are supple bronze figures that seem to be melting into the thick bronze blocks on which they\u2019re &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/susan-amorde\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Susan Amorde<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[15,28,51,68,81,99,106],"class_list":["post-40","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-art","tag-artist-spotlight","tag-bronze","tag-hydrocal","tag-los-angeles-artist","tag-mixed-media","tag-sculptures","tag-susan-amorde"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4242,"href":"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40\/revisions\/4242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}