Artist Susan Janow is known for drawing intricate pen-and-ink grids. Starting with hand-drawn tables, she inserts crosshatched fine lines or blocks of color, leaving hints of negative space underneath. Part of a meditative and methodical practice, the resulting compositions read like personal pattern codes, organic Tetris games, or quilted curtains moving across the page. In this new edition of the Dialogue + Studio program, participants are invited to join Janow for a hands-on presentation and workshop inspired by the artist’s methodical focus. We will experiment with ink markers, grids, and color to craft rhythmic and textural abstractions.
This workshop is an exceptional opportunity to meet and learn from Janow, whose videos are included in the exhibition Self-Made: A Century of Inventing Artists at the American Folk Art Museum. Based in Oakland and a member of the Creative Growth Art Center since 2003, Janow’s practice is rooted in precise, intuitive, and introspective experimentation.
The Dialogue + Studio Workshop series offers participants opportunities to gain insight into and engage with self-taught art, past and present, at a deep level. Focused discussions about select themes, techniques, and materials featured in current exhibitions are paired with related expert-led hands-on workshops.
This program is organized by Mathilde Walker-Billaud, AFAM Curator of Programs and Engagement.
About the Artist
A member of Creative Growth Art Center since 2003, Susan Janow’s practice is expansive. The artist works with video, ink, ceramic, collage, woodwork and textile, and she is widely recognized for her short films created in Creative Growth’s Digital Media Lab. Her artwork is in the permanent collections of the Brooklyn Museum, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), and the Centre Pompidou in Paris, France.
Consult the artist’s webpage here.
Images
Left: Susan Janow (b. 1980, San Francisco, California), ANSWERS, Creative Growth, Auckland, California, 2018. Single-channel video, 10 min. 6 sec. Courtesy of the artist and Creative Growth
Right: Susan Janow (b. 1980, San Francisco, California), Untitled, Creative Growth, Auckland, California, 2024. Sharpie on paper, 11.5 x 18 in. Courtesy of the artist and Creative Growth
Credits
This program is organized in partnership with Creative Growth Art Center.
Established in 1973, Creative Growth Art Center is an internationally recognized nonprofit based in Oakland, California. It is the world’s first independent art center dedicated to advancing the careers of artists with developmental, mental, and physical disabilities. Today, Creative Growth supports 140 artists, many of whom have sustained decades-long studio practices and exhibit widely in museums, galleries, and public collections around the world.
Registration
This program will take place at the American Folk Art Museum, located at 2 Lincoln Square, New York City. This program is open to artists and creatives at all levels of training and experience. It is limited to 18 individuals. Advance registration is required.
Tickets are $15 / $12 members, students, artists, seniors. Materials will be provided.
For questions or to request accessibility accommodations, please email publicprograms@folkartmuseum.org.