Susanne Schmidt-Nielsen MRSS

Artist statement

life is soft and gentle, harsh, meaningless and confusing / it is slow and peaceful / it is like at rollercoaster running wild 

we build up / layer upon layer / at times layers are torn off, whilst others are added / in a never ending and continuous process 

As a person and artist, I am preoccupied with the concept of existence. I am interested in our personal formation, considering the influence of our surrounding culture and our relationships with others, while also paying attention to the lasting impression we leave behind.

In both my personal life and artistic work, I value presence and attention. Without this, nothing truly works. As I create, I focus on the viewer and aim to create a space for contemplation, sensation, and exchange. Through this interaction, the artwork takes on new depth and meaningful nuances are added.

My work ranges from installation to object or sculpture. The work speaks in a sensuous and non-figurative language, where the story is told through the meeting of the artwork, body to body, through the visible traces from the handling of the material, through the quality the material contains, as well as, through the installation of the work.

Susanne Schmidt-Nielsen, 2023
 

Biography

Already as a child, I lived in cultures that were different from the one I knew. I believe a seed was planted. And I had developed this curiosity in understanding the perspectives and activities of others when it comes to life - simply to listen to what preoccupies their thoughts, where their beliefs originate, and what sustains them.
My curiosity extends far and wide - I observe, I sense, I listen - and I experience that when the different ways of understanding and living life are combined, they perspectivize each other. They enrich and add nuance, perhaps they even challenge - but in the face of the unfamiliar, I find that thoughts are set in motion, resulting in new understandings and insights.

When I was 3 years old, I lived abroad for the first time. It was in Poland. Everything was new and different, and that was just fine. I learned the new ways of acting, and the language – this new, became my everyday life. When I was 10, I lived in the USA. Again, I had to learn new things, a new language, new ways of understanding and acting, in an unknown culture, with its own logics and codes.
As an adult, I have also traveled around the world with long stays in China and the USA. These stays are all driven by my curiosity about the culture, about everyday life, about the individual's way of dealing with this. I carry some of it with me as impressions, sensations and observations, because the language was not sufficient for conversation, while other things are perceived differently through the shared language.

Some of the strongest experiences I have with my art also come from the meeting and conversation with the visitor, whether here in Denmark or, as in connection to my exhibition in South Korea, where the cultural difference enriched and added nuance to the conversation in the finest way.
It's especially meaningful to me when I hear or sense that others are moved by my art, and it provides a foundation for discussion, openness, and welcoming attitudes.

Susanne Schmidt-Nielsen, 2023