PICTORIAL FOUNDATION | SUSAN HILLARY

SUSAN HILLARY

Goshen NY UNITED STATES

As a mid-career, polymath, visual artist, I integrate my work as a painter, photographer, filmmaker, farmer, and environmental advocate into images and activism –- which are extensions of my vision and emotions –- as I reflect nature, see movement and feel colors. Themes of nurturing, growing, and protection are natural maternal instincts which repeatedly show up in my work. I am inspired by pareidolia, and by found objects. My works have been exhibited in Whitney Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum, Upstate Art Weekend, Garnerville Arts, Egyptian Theatre, Gertrude Stein Gallery, among other venues.

My creative practice moves between art, film, environmental advocacy, and regenerative farming. I am drawn to the colors, light, patterns, and intersections found in nature, and I often begin with observation, doodling, and material experimentation. Recycled and found materials, including old windows, car doors, screens, and shades, allow me to work with objects that already carry history, texture, and memory. I am interested in transforming what has been discarded into something visually alive and socially engaged.

My work is also shaped by my commitment to environmental protection. As an artist and attorney, I see creativity as a form of advocacy, capable of making complex ecological issues visible and emotionally resonant. Film, painting, farming, and activism are not separate parts of my life, but connected practices. Whether I am creating an artwork, filming a story, protecting waterways, or growing plants for natural dyes, my process is grounded in care, reuse, resilience, and a deep respect for the living world.

ARTWORKS

The Pratt in the Hat (2021)

SUSAN HILLARY

“I was inspired to create this short film, The PRATT in the HAT, when I spotted Frances across a crowded political dinner. In a sea of gray Frances was a pop of color - adorned in one of her striking large striking hats, she seemed to be a beacon of light. I asked her if I could photograph her because I loved her hat – she then told me she had about 300 hats. Which of course I asked to photograph. Each one is a work of art. As I photographer she told me her story – her story of strength, grace and integrity in the face of racial discrimination. Beneath her large-brimmed bonnets Frances is a role model, a woman whose personal insight and style stood up against racial inequality and injustice. Her story is now so important and relevant and is instructive as to how we as women need to stand up against all forms of oppression and injustice, subtly and directly.”

Skinny Dipping

SUSAN HILLARY

acrylic on framed glass window
76H x 18W in (193 × 46 cm)
US $10,000

“This piece is actually a painting on a French door window I found on the side of the road. I had taught myself to paint originally on glass when I was living in NYC in the 1980s. Painting on windows is painting in reverse, putting the details down before the background. When hung in a window, the painted windows change throughout the day depending on the natural light. This piece was inspired from a storyboard of script, I was helping develop at the time entitled “Kill Bill”, not the Tarantino film, which was written by a very strong woman, Eva Montenegro, and was about a very strong female protagonist, whose passion for living and loving changes the lives of those around her. I used films starring Esther Williams as reference images. For me water and the female energies are deeply connected in the act of swimming and embracing underwater.”

EXHIBITIONS

Code Girl

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SUSAN HILLARY

Goshen NY UNITED STATES

ARTWORKS

EXHIBITIONS