News & Events 2005-2006

“Then and Now” on Exhibit in Romano Gallery

Suzanne Hitchcock Clothier’s retrospective of 70 years of painting, “Then and Now,” is on display from January 5 through February 4, 2006, in the Romano Gallery of the Armstrong-Hipkins Center for the Arts. An artist’s reception, open to the public, is scheduled for Thursday, January 12, from 7-8 p.m.

A Stillwater, N.J., resident, Clothier graduated from Yale University with a BFA degree; among her friends and influences at Yale was Alexander Calder. Her early paintings represent the art of the time, from the later ’40s, into the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s. While living in New York City with her husband Robert, an architect, she worked as a fabric designer for Cohn-Hall-Marx. They later moved to New Jersey, where she raised her family, taught art and participated in numerous group and solo exhibitions in galleries, museums and festivals.

From her early life in France to her education at Yale, Clothier has been influenced by the world around her and, while her style and influences have varied over the years, her philosophy has always been reflective of the statement, “Exactitude is not truth.” (Delacroix paraphrased by Matisse.)

Clothier noted, “To me, painting is a language or at least a way of communicating. Whatever style or technique you may use – realism, impressionism, abstract and so forth – what you paint comes from within you, from what is around you and what you feel. Your desire to express joy, delight, sadness, will all become part of your painting – figurative or non-figurative.” She added, “Having lived all my life in the country (with the exception of living in New Haven, Conn., and New York during World War II, when I was an air raid warden and then a textile designer), nature has been the anchor, inspiration and joy in my life. The farms, rivers, valleys and forests I have cherished and now feel it is my job to care for as a keeper of a garden.”

A selected member of the prestigious Pen and Brush Club of New York, Clothier, now widowed, continues to paint, sometimes on large-scale canvases.

The Romano Gallery, is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.; other hours by appointment. For more information on this exhibit, please call (908) 362-6121. Posted 12/13/05

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