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Susan Spjut’s "Why Are All the Flowers Dying"

Art from the Heart

by Evan Wetmore | Houston magazine | February 6, 2012

Lamar High grad Susan Spjut showcases a series of personal, emotionally driven paintings and newspaper collages at Galeria Regina (1716 Richmond Ave., 713.523.2524, galeriaregina.com). Hidden Epidemic continues all month, with a reception set for Saturday, Feb. 11, from 6 to 9pm.

Spjut, a forensic nurse at Memorial Hermann Hospital, channels interactions with victims of sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse into thought-provoking pieces. “It’s mostly for me to de-stress but also to raise awareness,” says Spjut.

A mom of three and a two-time Hunting Art Prize finalist, Spjut collects newspaper articles about abuse cases and layers them on large canvasses, covering the articles with images of young children and words like “Why?”

One collage, “Coach,” was completed shortly after news of the Penn State scandal broke, featuring charcoal pencil outlines of young boys playing sports.

“People say, ‘You can’t sell that stuff,’” says Spjut, who has a series of similar collages of the BP oil spill aftermath, featuring lifelike brown pelicans and utilizing real oil from the disaster, collected from Pensacola Beach. “I say, ‘Maybe not. But they stop and read it.’”

Hidden Epidemic runs through March 4.