" The condition of your Downtown is the only marketing that matters"

The Batesville Area Arts Council is pleased to present Back to the Garden, an exhibition

by Susan Chambers, at the BAAC Gallery on Main (226 E Main St) June 11 – July 27,

2024. Susan Chambers explores her environmental concerns in vibrant paintings of the native

habitat she has planted in her garden in the historic Quapaw Quarter, Little Rock, AR.

Her BA is from Rhodes College and her MFA is from the University of Georgia. After

teaching in Arkansas Arts Council residencies, local colleges and public schools, she is

now painting and exhibiting full time. She received a 2020 Arkansas Arts Council

Individual Fellowship in Painting and won first place in BAAC’s 2023 National Juried

Exhibition. As a painter and avid gardener, Chambers is passionate about creating a haven out of

native plants for birds, pollinators, insects, lizards, and other living beings. Native plants

have deep roots and are drought and heat resistant. They have developed symbiotic,

beneficial relationships with pollinators over thousands of years. Her garden is now filled

with the constant activity of birds, bees and pollinators among the native plants. These

plants inspire her work, as she creates painting using vibrant, saturated color and space

to create magical places between reality and abstraction. Of her work, Chambers says,

“When the colors vibrate I feel the transcendence of being in the garden. To lose yourself

in the garden is to find a new way of being.”

Visit our website, batesvilleareaartscouncil.org, to read Susan’s full biography and artist

statement. Please join us for a reception on Friday, June 21, from 5 - 7 p.m. with a brief artist talk at

6 p.m. The reception is free and open to the public. Gallery hours are Tuesday – Friday

10 a.m. – 4 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.