Review: Sauk’s Gallery Features Peoria Artist

By Debra Tennison

Currently the SVCC Art Gallery is featuring an exhibit by artist Susanne Nestory, a painter based in Peoria at present. 

Nestory’s work, though intriguing, is not something everyone would appreciate. Limited as my artistic knowledge is, I could not feel what the artist was trying to portray. I could not embrace the artist’s vision. I looked for the rolling hills, blue skies and the beauty of Oregon to materialize or take shape but what I saw were canvases covered in what appears to be random spots. That does not mean you should avoid or reject the display. Absolutely not. Go.

Art is partially subjective. Subjective to the artist who translates their thoughts, feelings and emotions into their work. Subjective to their audience that observes and ruminates over the pieces and comes to their own personal conclusions. What we see as individuals, what our opinion is, is neither good nor bad. It just is. When it comes to art, we know what we like and we know what moves us. 

Everyone, given the opportunity, should check out Nestory’s work while it is on display at Sauk and come to their own conclusion. These featured works could feed your artistic appetite. It could be a first experience in testing and tempting your artistic palette. 

Her current display presented in SVCC’s gallery is called “The Oregon Years”. Nestory is best known for her paintings that represent the different locations and geography that she has encountered in her life. Her work is best described by Nestory herself. “These paintings depict a visual response to the way I remember encountering ‘place’-muted and clear, present and absent, forming and collapsing; an identity that refuses to take shape.” 

Whether you find yourself with time between classes, or on a lunch break with an appetite for art instead of food, stop in to the SVCC Art Gallery to check Susan Nestory’s artworks on display. Check out the world through someone else’s eyes. It may just inspire and ignite your own imagination and creativity.