August,

2016

<p> In <em>August</em>, Suss depicts an interior space filled with books, art, modern furniture, and ornamental objects. The painting draws from the artist’s memory and domestic life, interspersing depictions of family heirlooms with items copied from online searches to create a scene that balances the generalities of a stage setting with the specificity of a documentary picture. The large scale of <em>August</em> creates the sensation that the viewer could enter the depicted space; however, Suss downplays depth and perspective and further undermines the sense of illusion by portraying the setting at three-quarter scale. The resulting interior seems both remote and accessible, providing a metaphor for the gap between imagination and reality, as well as for the role of memory in bridging each. </p>