ISSUE NO. 02 · STUDIO VISIT
Scott
Sueme
Based in Vancouver, BC, Scott Sueme is a painter whose work has evolved from formal explorations of color and composition toward a quieter, more symbolic vocabulary. Drawing on personal mythology, fatherhood, and his awe of the British Columbia landscape, his paintings reach for something universal, channeled through the patient, observational rhythm of his studio practice.
Over the past several years, there's been a clear departure in your work from a formal aesthetic toward more presence of symbol and style. Can you speak to this shift, and your desire for this change?
"The change in my work happened gradually and slowly. At least for me, it didn't feel like a conscious effort. It was just something I felt I was yearning for, more specificity, a way to communicate direct ideas.
"Some of my earlier works were about composition itself. They were about color. Those were the central themes. Now, the themes are more universal. They have to do with personal mythology, interconnectedness, nature. I felt the paintings needed a more direct symbol or anchor to share those ideas and get them across."
Considering that change wasn't necessarily conscious but happened gradually, what do you think has remained the same in your process or style?
"For me, it's always about curiosity and progression. With painting, you always do a great deal of looking, and through observation you're naturally trying to strategize and think about ways to improve the work, to add something. Sometimes the addition is a subtraction, something you're taking away.
"That curiosity has always been the same. A desire for growth, refinement, and progression is something that has always stayed with me."
Your work is still recognizable, whether early or current. How would you describe your signature style as an artist?
"That's a hard one to put into words, because I don't really put a lot of thought into it. Style, to me, is sort of a byproduct of what I'm creating. It's not something I put at the beginning of the creative process. It's something that shows up after, once the work has been made.
"I hope people recognize my voice in the work more than an aesthetic. Aesthetically, it's evolved slowly throughout my career, and I've tried not to shock my viewers by evolving the work in a gradual way."
"In the studio, in a humble little room, I'm hoping to channel something more universal, greater than something as tangible as everyday life."
Your work is collected locally, nationally, and internationally. What do you think attracts collectors to your work?
"I hope it's something they're seeing in themselves, or a connection they're experiencing with the work. When I'm creating, I try to create from a place of personal experience. Sometimes that's something I'm going through in life, whether it's fatherhood or my awe of British Columbia and where we live.
"I hope I'm able to convey those ideas to someone else, that they're connecting with the work in a way that's meaningful to them. I'm hoping for something universal, something outside of myself that resonates with people."
Do you ultimately want to be considered separate from your work, or would you like art historians in the future to connect your life to the work you're producing?
"Art has a capacity to exist beyond the artist's life, and that's something uniquely profound. If you were to look at any other profession, it's pretty rare. I think I would like the art to be seen as something separate.
"There are nice moments where you might say, 'an artist was living in this certain way, and that's why he made that.' It helps contextualize the work. But there's something really special, almost magical, about a piece taking on a life of its own. Existing onto itself as a message, channeled through a person, something that needs to be looked at separately.
"Sometimes there are those particular masterpieces that seem to be channeled from beyond. In the studio, in a humble little room, I'm hoping to channel something more universal, greater than something as tangible as everyday life."
