The On-Line Exibition of Susan Point

Susan Point Exhibition - "Peripheral Visions"
Susan Point is more than a catalyst for the revival of Coast Salish Native art, her work has become a contemporary art form in its own right. While incorporating the geometric designs and symbolic figures of her Native Heritage, Point has taken her work to a new level of subtlety and sophistication, enthusiastically embraced by the international art world.

Born on April 5, 1952, Susan's home is part of the Musqueam First Nation Reservation in Vancouver, Canada. The Reservation incorporates her Coast Salish ancestral lands at the mouth of the Frazer River - a source of great inspiration for Susan's work.

Although Coast Salish art had almost disappeared by the time Point launched her career in the early '80's, she chose to concentrate on the designs of her people, rather than the well-known designs of the Northern Natives. Considered sacred and deeply private, Salish art was rarely seen by outsiders.

Conducting research at the U.B.C. Museum of Anthropology, Susan began to investigate traditional Coast Salish art forms. Many of her images originate in the designs found on everyday Salish tools. In the 1990's, Susan Point began creating monumental works in glass, bronze, wood, concrete and stainless steel, which have resulted in over 35 public art commissions. Her work welcomes visitors at the Vancouver International Airport and The Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum of the American Indian, as well as many public and corporate buildings in Canada and U.S.

Point is a master at melding traditional and modern. Through her work, Susan continues to tell old stories to new audiences ­- of care and respect for the natural world.