Susan M. Olmetti

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Press Release:

Photos by Richard Sinclair Frasure, Photojournalist

July 20 - Sept 2, 2008: Noted Chicago Abstract Artist Susan Olmetti Brushes Manhattan At '08 Slapping Down Some Brush Strokes

The Summer 2008 Slapping Down Some Brush Strokes Heralded Along New York's West 23rd Street

CHICAGO (EWORLDWIRE) Jul 14, 2008

The famed New York Hotel Chelsea — the address of artists since the middle of the last century — and the streets of SOHO and the East Village will be re-touched by the presence of nomad resident Susan Olmetti as she shows up for a third muggy summer and her second summer solo show. For her show, entitled "He Will Find Me in the Final Fulfillment," the cozy nooks of the community will become her studio and her salesroom.

Inspired by the special character and culture of New York City, Olmetti chooses to check in her canvas at the curb, to become a fixture in Chelsea, Soho, and East Village. "It's euphoric for me, being on the streets with people," explained Olmetti.

From features in international newspapers such as Canada's Globe and Mail and magazines such as Today's Chicago Woman, Olmetti has attracted attention to her work, described as having a sophisticated and intricate pop art feel.

From sunrise to sunset, Olmetti will debut her craft and colorize the routes for the public who stop to admire her creativity at her alley of completed canvases of abstract art. Those who dally long enough may learn about Olmetti's complicated struggle with bi-polar disorder, the social and economic obstacles of having an eighth-grade education, and how her art became a healing tool.

In addition to her presence at galleries, Olmetti has injected her creativity into words with poetry, and into clothing and footwear design. She has also been a featured speaker at Neumann Association Family and Client Support Group where she has inspired others to strive to overcome their personal Achille's heel.

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© 2007 TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images used with permission.

Susan Olmetti paints on the sidewalk in front of the Hotel Chelsea in New York City 25 June 2007. Chelsea Hotel manager Stanley Bard, who has been a fixture at the Chelsea for more than 50 years, and the rest of the Bard family, were forced out by their board of directors and a new management company will take over the day-to-day operations of the hotel. The landmark hotel is recognized as an American cultural icon and is renowned for the artists, writers and musicians who have lived and created art there, including Sir Arthur C. Clarke, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Stanley Kubrick, Arthur Miller, Joni Mitchell, Dee Dee Ramone, Larry Rivers, Dylan Thomas, Mark Twain, and Tennessee Williams.

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Change at the Chelsea, Shelter of the Arts
New York Times, June 19, 2007
(I am the painter in the red dress in the photo!)

Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times/Redux

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Photo by Tom Zamiar © 2005

PRESS RELEASE:

A New Artistic Talent in Chicago

United States of America (Press Release) November 10, 2007 — It is not surprising that many artists are difficult to understand. They reach into the depths of their psyches and dare to examine that which the rest of us try to avoid. To make matters worse, they insist on showing us images of what they see and, to some of us, that is just too hard to look at.

Susan M. Olmetti is one of seven Chicago artists who have their work displayed at the Judy A. Saslow Gallery from October 19th to November 24th. One of these is an untitled piece described as mixed media on paper. It depicts the little people that Olmetti is fond of portraying. They are not only smiling, their hearts are, in many cases, right out in front, visible and vulnerable. This reflects Olmetti, herself, as she faces the world at one time with a smile and at another with tears but always vulnerable. Like most artists, she reveals herself and prepares for the onslaught of public opinion which is not always either well informed or tolerant of change.

Another untitled piece, acrylic paint on wood, offers a contrary vision. Primarily red with some gold against a black background, it seems to reveal a soul in emotional torment, extreme anger poised against the blackness of despair. The gold, itself, might represent some hope of reward or at least freedom from the bondage of despair.

Of all the works Olmetti chose to display, only two have titles. The Alexander is a portrait which she named as a tribute to her friend who has been an inspiration for many years. The other, Slash, is an oil on canvas piece.

This is one Chicago-based artist whose artistic growth and development will be watched closely in the future.

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Susan Olmetti being videotaped
for Chelsea Hotel documentary by Deerjen Productions
Summer 2007 - New York
Photograph taken by
Richard Sinclair Frasure
Photojournalist