Susan Maddux (United States, b. 1969, Honolulu, Hawaii) is a multidisciplinary artist of mixed Japanese descent. Her art emerges from a spiritual pursuit of the essential, where raw canvas absorbs color, and accordion-folded wall hangings unfurl and cascade, surrendering to the weight of the material itself. Stripped of decorative elements or glossy lacquered finishes, the works look to bring an awareness to the surface and the substrata of the textile. Yet, the folds obscure as much as they reveal, turning perception into an act of discovery. Mirroring the forms and curves of draped fabrics, these sculptural paintings disrupt traditional boundaries, investigating themes of reverence and visual inquiry while asking not only how we see art but what we might be missing.

Totem-like, the finished wall pieces range in size from twelve inches to seven feet tall and come off the wall from two to six inches. Starting from the square, canvas is meticulously folded to form a silhouette. With the form in mind the canvas is unfolded and soaked with washes of pigment to then be regathered into the original shapes, creating reliefs that bridge painting and sculpture. The various pieces of pleated, tucked, and creased canvas are intuitively arranged in different configurations until an ideal tension of tones and contours is found.

Maddux is a 4th generation hapa-Japanese born and raised in Hawaii with stints on the continent growing up. The artist’s practice is engaged in creating her own formal language as a means of reconnection with the culture of both where she is from and from where her lineage has been. Drawing from her background as a textile designer, Maddux integrates gestures of domestic labor, traditional garment construction, and folk craft into her work. Through meticulous folding and stacking, she transforms raw, pigment-stained canvas into hanging reliefs that subtly echo the world of clothing construction while invoking themes of memory, time, and renewal. In this vein, the work of manually folding is an intention to carry on the dialogue of domesticity and physical labor. In our current era of virtual contact and the flooding of technology in every aspect of our lives, Maddux’s work locates itself in the tangible, insisting that material knowledge passed on through our hands is what keeps us connected. 

Maddux lectures and mentors artists, sharing her insights on the intersection of art, design, process, and purpose. Her pieces are held in collections across the United States, resonating with audiences drawn to their presence, luminous color, and evocative forms.