Suzy Spence: Power of Paint

Suzy Spence is an artist who embodies creativity, resilience, and empowerment. Known for her portrayals of jockeys and her bold feminist perspective, Suzy seamlessly blends art and sport to convey a deeper message of personal autonomy and female strength. With roots in both New York City and Vermont, and a strong connection to the coast of Maine where she grew up, Suzy’s journey is as diverse as it is inspiring.

2024 has been a landmark year for Suzy, who is preparing for her third solo exhibition at Maya Frodeman Gallery in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Alongside this, she is consulting on a limited television series created by Plan B Entertainment and Amazon Studios, about the life of Cuban-American artist Ana Mendieta, a project close to her heart.

Amid these exciting ventures, Suzy took time to sit down with Glorious to reflect on her artistic roots, her passion for horses, and how both art and sport have shaped her perspective on feminism and empowerment.

Jockey in Pearls, flashe and acrylic paint on panel, 2021

Glorious: Tell us about your artistic and sporting history.

Suzy Spence: I’m based in New York City and Vermont but I grew up on the coast of Maine. My mother’s philosophy is, give a child the best art materials you can afford, and take them seriously. So we’d sit in the landscape and sketch in charcoal together, or work with watercolours at her desk. I have very early memories of sitting with her in a sand dune at 4 or 5-years-old, drawing next to her. I was able to watch her work, so I could follow her example.

At age 19 I went to Parsons School of Design and The School of Visual Arts, both in New York City. I got my MFA, worked part time at The New Museum, and looked at art night and day. I have remained working within the New York art community my whole career.

I was a jock as a kid, and practised gymnastics just about every day from age 6 until high school. I had success in track and field, and won some medals at the state level. I very much wanted to ride, but my parents were raising four kids, so I took lessons for a few years but then I focused on other sports out of necessity.

In midlife I got serious about riding, and found excellent dressage and natural horsemanship trainers in Vermont. I gained foundational skills to be a decent rider, and I applied that to my favourite cross country activities of pleasure riding and drag hunting.

When she was five I would put my daughter on the horse I was leasing, and over the years she has chosen to pursue the sport seriously and has become a much better equestrian than I have ever been! Her name is Nephele Sarrinikolaou, she is 19 now and plays Division 1 Polo for Cornell University’s Women’s Team.

Racer 11, acrylic paint on panel, 2021; Widow XVIII, flashe and acrylic paint on canvas, 2019, Dirty Racer, acrylic paint on panel, 2019

Glorious: What inspired you to combine the British sporting art genre and feminism through painting jockeys?

Suzy Spence: I’m interested in the intensity and risk of this particular sport – the straight-ahead rocket-like power and energy you feel with the animal as you move together galloping through space. I personally love to gallop through the landscape more than anything else! I probably get high on the adrenaline and the view can’t be matched!

I’m intrigued by the women jockeys who are making it in the male dominated horse racing industry. Women generally have smaller physical frames and incredible core strength which means they should have a natural competitive advantage to their male counterparts. Racing is presented as too dangerous a sport, too hard-scrabble, yet women compete head-to-head with men in Olympic Eventing, an arguably more dangerous sport. It seems there’s a particular gate-keeping that goes on in horse racing because women racers, given equal access, would have some natural advantages.

British Sporting Art has had a rather low status within the history of art because it was generated so much to please the patron horse owner . The paintings were more like trophies and conversation pieces, than serious academic works. The conceptual artist in me has always liked to explore that problem. And then there is this extraordinary animal and the colourful, patterned silks on the athlete.Visually there is a ton to work with as a painter.

Suzy: “It seems there’s a particular gate-keeping that goes on in horse racing because women racers, given equal access, would have some natural advantages.”

"It seems there’s a particular gate-keeping that goes on in horse racing because women racers, given equal access, would completely dominate."

CONTROL

Dirty Racer (Mud), 72x72 inches, flashe and acrylic paint on canvas, 2023

Glorious: How do you think your artwork helps spread a message of empowerment and female strength, and how does your art empower you as a female artist?

Suzy Spence: In America our right to bodily autonomy has been taken away in 13 states and is under attack in all of the others. , Besides the loss of life and physical injury to pregnant people there are ramifications like hindering us to be athletes and artists how and when we want. So the athlete, a person who is particularly in control of their body, works as a metaphor in my paintings. Women who have bought my work have told me how they feel sexy and powerful and even comforted by my images..

Suzy: “I don’t differentiate between life and art, it’s a whole lived experience.”

Glorious: What’s your favourite part about being an artist?

Suzy Spence: Making it, living it. I don’t differentiate between life and art, it’s a whole lived experience, hence my riding and art blend together. I love being an artist, and I love looking at other people’s art too.

"I don’t differentiate between life and art, it’s my whole lived experience."

Glorious: Who inspires you (artists or other) to keep you motivated to continue in this career?

Suzy Spence: A trend lately is for women artists who are in their 80s and 90s becoming very successful late in life. I admire their perseverance, and now they are having their day. Lois Dodd and Howardena Pindell are two examples. Check out The Great Women Artists on Instagram curated by Katy Hessel for a huge list of amazing artists to continuously learn about.

Glorious: Your daughter is an equestrian rider, what are the main messages that you want your daughter to take away from your art?

Suzy Spence: A painting of mine was her phone screensaver for a little while, it was the ultimate form of teenage flattery! My goal as her mother has been to open as many doors for her as possible. I want her to have choices, and let her decide which direction she wants to go.

Suzy's daughter Nephele Sarrinikolaou (pictured) plays Division 1 Polo for Cornell University’s Women’s Team

Glorious: Have you always encouraged your daughter to be ‘sporty’? How do you think the experience of being a young woman and women’s sport is different to when you were younger?

Suzy Spence: Yes, when we started spending time in Vermont I took her for riding lessons.. Riding barns are (understandably) more accessible in Vermont than in New York City, and more of a way of life.

The main difference in women’s sports today is the upending of how we think of gender in sports. You can see how women will continue to disrupt the economics of the sports industry. Men have to share the spotlight and the cash. Our society is moving in a less gender binary direction, that’s clear, and that’s exciting.

Glorious: Would you consider painting another sport(s) that portrays female empowerment?

Suzy Spence: It would be fun to paint women rugby players or boxers, but I love the landscape too, so I think I’ll stick to equestrian sports.

Glorious: If you were hosting a dinner with three inspirational women, who would you invite and why?

Suzy Spence: I’d much rather meet each of these women for dinner one on one, rather than try to entertain them all at once! Serena Williams for being one of the greatest athletes of all time – I would like to give her the floor and listen to her wax greatness for as long as she’d like. Billie-Jean King, who broke so many barriers and whose Battle of the Sexes was a spectacle I remember. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez a.k.a. “AOC”. who I’d like to thank for her bravery and activism.

Glorious: What’s next for you?

Suzy Spence: I’m excited for my upcoming solo exhibition at Maya Frodeman Gallery in Jackson Hole, Wyoming in February 2025, where I’ll be showcasing my latest racers series. You can always keep up with me on social and via my website.