Susie Ganch (b. 1971 Appleton, Wisconsin) is a first generation American artist of Hungarian heritage. She is a sculptor, jeweler, educator, and founder and director of Radical Jewelry Makeover. Ganch received her Bachelors in Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Geology in 1994 and her Masters in Fine Arts from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1997.

Ganch's work has been shown nationally and internationally. Her work is in the collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA Her work, Drag, was acquired by the Smithsonian American Art Museum as part of the Renwick Gallery's 50th Anniversary Campaign.

Ganch works as an Associate Professor and Metal Area Lead at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Artwork

Sculpture

Ganch's background in Geology has heavily influenced her work that has centered on conversations about the environment, consumption, beauty, and adornment. Ganch frequently repurposes and utilizes such materials as plastic utensils and coffee cup lids en masse for her sculptures. "With these works, Ganch undermines the viewer's reaction; this is not just well-composed garbage. Rather, she reframes the three-dimensional objects with photographs or suggestive titles, directly alluding to questions about consumerism, ethical standards of global retailers, and mass production… Ganch places implication equally on buyer and producer as the innumerable individual parts are held together to form a gestalt."

Jewelry Ganch received her training in jewelry while attending University of Wisconsin- Madison for her MFA, and additional training at California College of Art, Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts, and Penland School of Crafts. Her jewelry, particularly her enameling work, has been exhibited nationally and internationally, as well as included in several publications such as Metalsmith Magazine Simon, Marjorie. "Once More with Love" Metalsmith Magazine, volume 33, number 5, pp.60Cohn, Susan. "Exhibition in Print: As Seen by Others, Photography as Strategy" Metalsmith Magazine, volume33, number 4, 2013, pp. 46-47Estel Berman, Harriete. "Copycat, Copyright, or Coincidence, Maker Beware" Metalsmith Magazine, volume 30, number 1, 2010 pp. 22Dobbs Ariail, Kate. "Susie Ganch: Pushing Boundaries" Metalsmith Magazine, volume 28, number 3, 2008, pp. 20-27Dobbs Ariail, Kate. "C. James Meyer" Metalsmith Magazine, volume 28 number 2, 2007, pp.49Ramljak, Susan, ed. "Exhibition in Print 2006" Metalsmith Magazine, volume 26, number 4, 2006, pp. 22Cross Gans, Jennifer. "California Metal Now" Metalsmith Magazine, Summer 2006, pp. 57Risatti, Howard. "Craft vs. Design/Recognition vs. Understanding" Metalsmith Magazine, Summer 2006, pp. 14Ramljak, Susan, ed. "Exhibition in Print 2002" Metalsmith Magazine, volume 22, number 4, 2002, pp. 23 and several Lark Craft books.Perkins, Sarah. 500 Enameled Objects Lark Books, pp. 5,33,116,191Le Van, Martha, ed. 500 Necklaces: Contemporary Interpretations of a Timeless Form, Lark Books, 2006, pp. 395-396Le Van, Martha, ed. 500 Bracelets: An Inspiring Collection of Extraordinary Designs, Lark Books, 2005, pp. 122McLaughlin, Jean W., ed. The Nature of Craft and the Penland Experience, Lark Books, 2004, pp. 27, 83Aimone, Steven. Design!, Lark Books, 2004, pp. 9Morgenthal, Deborah, and Tourtillott, Suzanne J.E., ed. The Penland Book of Ceramics, Lark Books, 2003, pp. 86-89Tourtillot, Suzanne J.E., ed. Making Beautiful Beads, Lark Books, 2003, pp. 99-101

Selected exhibitions

Solo exhibitions 2015 Land and Sea, Sienna Patti Contemporary Lenox, MA 2014 Susie Ganch, Tributaries Series, Metal Museum, Memphis, TN 2014 Tied, Richmond Visual Art Center, Richmond, VA 2013 Glancing Back, Looking Forward, Sienna Patti, Lenox, MA 2010 Susie Ganch, 211 Gallery, University of Wyoming-Laramie, WY 2010 Bits and Pieces, Allen Priebe Gallery, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, WI

Radical Jewelry Makeover Radical Jewelry Makeover (RJM) is collaborative project directed by Susie Ganch. Radical jewelry Makeover "uses the role of jewelry to educate students and communities about the complex issues surrounding mining." Radical Jewelry Makeover travels to hosting communities where participants are invited to donate unwanted jewelry to the project; donations range from plastic jewelry, to gold, diamonds, silver, stones, and bone. Participants break down, organize, and reuse the donations to create new pieces, extending the material's life span and keeping the original unwanted jewelry from landfills. Throughout the process, participants are taught about the environmental impact that mining for metals and stones has, and challenged to rethink their own participation in jewelry markets. At the end of the project, the remade pieces are then sold with the profits going to Ethical Metalsmiths.

Selected grants, recognitions and residencies Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Fellowship, Richmond, VA, 2015 Commonwealth of Virginia Commission for the Arts Fellowship in Crafts, Richmond, VA, Richmond, VA, 2008

References

External links Radical Jewelry Makeover