Susan Zwirn

Artist Statement

Capturing the infinite qualities of nature takes me on unpredictable journeys, where my work shifts between recognizable landscapes and abstract interpretations of space. My palette is shaped by seasonal changes, shifting light, and the emotional resonance of each moment. In addition to landscapes, I explore figurative work, preserving the presence of people I encounter along the way.

Painting is my way of engaging with the dynamic present—seeking structure beneath nature’s surface beauty while embracing its inherent chaos. I invite viewers to join me in merging perspectives and inhabiting multiple times and spaces.

Through textured layers of paint built over time and dynamic compositions, I aim to convey the fleeting beauty of nature’s transitions. My paintings invite reflection and immersion, leading viewers along pathways of landscape, space, emotion, and memory.

Biography

Susan Goetz Zwirn is an accomplished painter known for her evocative landscapes and figurative work, blending realism and abstraction. Inspired by her travels to Italy and India, as well as her surroundings in New York and California, her work captures a strong sense of place and mood. Her paintings have been exhibited nationally and are held in private and corporate collections here and abroad.

Now based at the Novato Arts Center in California, Zwirn continues to paint and exhibit her work while also leading workshops and presentations on art and creativity. She also serves as a juror for exhibitions and has worked as a consultant and evaluator for arts programs at both local and national levels.

Art Medium(s)

Acrylic Paint, Watercolor, Drawing

Group Studio Details

Susan practices her painting in a studio in the Novato Arts Center, previously a part of the MarinMoca Museum of Contemporary Art. Please contact her if you would like to visit. Her email is susangzwirn@gmail.com and visitors are welcome.

Group Exhibitions

EXHIBITIONS

2025 Cove Gallery, The Cove, Tiburon, CA.
2025. Marin Open Studio juried exhibit, Sausalito, CA.
2025. Tiburon-Belvedere Library Juried Exhibit, Artists’ Narratives, CA.
2025 Marin Open Studio juried exhibit, Marin Community Foundation, CA
2025. Tiburon-Belvedere Library Juried Exhibit, figurative, CA.
2024 MarinMoca Museum of Contemporary Art
2024 Marin Society of Artists, Award, On the Road
2023 Marin Society of Artists, Award 
2014    Hagedorn Hall, Hofstra University  
2010    Ashwag Hall, East Hampton, ‘The Usual Suspects’  
2007    Hagedorn Hall, Hofstra University, Solo exhibit, Children of India, photographs    
2005    Port Washington Library Gallery, Solo exhibit: Landscape Boundaries  
1996    Gallery Authentique, NY 
1996    Art 54 Gallery, Soho, NY 
1997    Hecksher Museum,  Award 1997    Winners Show, Fine Arts Museum of Long Island 
1999    Fine Arts Museum of Long Island, Award, ‘First Prize’ 
1996    Port Washington Library Exhibition 
1994    Artists Network of Great Neck, NY 
1993    Elaine Benson Gallery, NY 
1993    Artists Network of Great Neck, NY 1992    Hecksher Museum, NY 
1992    Nassau County Museum of Fine Arts-NY 
1992    Green Gallery, CT 1991    Gallery East, NY 
1991    Sabbeth Gallery, Wunsch Arts Center, NY 
1991    New York Institute of Technology, NY 1991    Nassau County Museum of Fine Arts, NY 
1991    Manhasset Art Association, C.W. Post College, NY, Award 
1991     Manhasset Art Association, North Shore Unitarian Church, NY, Award 
1991     Aesthetics ’90, Kansas, Award, 2nd place. National competition 
1990     CW Post College, Bert Lipper Memorial Award, “Best in Show” 
1990     Hecksher Museum, NY, Juried Exhibit 
1990     National Society of Painters in Casein and Acrylics 
1991     Chelsea Mansion, Nassau County Exhibition, NY 
1989     Elaine Benson Gallery, NY 
1988     Hutchins Gallery, C.W. Post College, NY, Award 
1988     Manhasset Art Association, Great Neck House, Award 
1986     Manhasset Art Association, C.W. Post College, Award, “First Prize”

Paintings in corporate, university and private collections, US and abroad.  

Publications

Refereed Journal Articles

Zwirn, S.G., (2021). Art in area of conflict: Kosovo, Teaching Social Studies., 21, 1, 89-95.

Zwirn, S.G., Plonczak, I., (2015) Understanding the art in science and the science in art through crosscutting concepts. NSTA (National Science Teacher Association). Science Scope, March, 58-63.

Zwirn, S. G. (2015). Butterflies of the soul; Santiago Ramon y Cajal: Art and neuron theory. Journal of Aesthetic Education, University of Illinois Press, 49(4), Winter, 105-119.

Zwirn, S. G., VandeZande, R. (2015). Differences in art and design education or differences in conceptions of creativity, Journal of Creative Behavior, Wiley Publications. 10.1002/jocb.98, 1-15.

Zwirn, S. G., Libresco, A. (2010). Art in social studies assessment: Untapped resource for social studies education. Art Education and Social Justice Issue, Art Education, National Art Education Association, 63(5), 29-35.

Zwirn, S. G., Graham, M. (2010). How being a K-12 artist can influence art education. Studies in Art Education, National Art Education Association, 51(3), 219-232.

Zwirn, S. G. (2009). Seeking causes for the marginalization of the arts in American education. Access: Critical Perspectives on Communication, Cultural and Policy Studies, Creative Arts in Policy and Practice. 28, (1), 15-25.

More publications available upon request

Journal Reviewer
The Journal of Creative Behavior

Videos

Zwirn, S.G. (2020). Creativity as a Human Right. Art Educators on Areas of Global Conflict. (Director and producer). Edited by Brian Williams and Lisa Lakeman.

Zwirn, S.G. (2004). Creative Teachers Creative Students: Arts Infused Learning Experience for Early Childhood Educators (25-minute video, presenting the Arts Infusion Grant and shown on Ed Leadership on-line website).

Awards

PAINTING AWARDS
Marin Society of Artists, CA, Award 2024
Marin Society of Artists, CA, Award, 2023 
Hecksher Museum, NY Second Prize 
Fine Arts Museum of Long Island, NY Winners Show,  
Fine Arts Museum of Long Island, First Prize   
Hecksher Museum, Honorable Mention 
Manhasset Art Association, C.W. Post College, NY, First Prize 
Manhasset Art Association, North Shore Unitarian Church, First Prize 
Aesthetics ’90, National Exhibit, Kansas, Second Prize 
Hutchins Gallery, C.W. Post College, NY, Best in Show 
Manhasset Art Association, Great Neck House, First Prize 
Manhasset Art Association, C.W. Post College, Second Prize 

Press

Art Reviews: Susan Goetz Zwirn
Helen Harrison, New York Times
“Susan Goetz Zwirn’s Landscape Boundaries, winner of an award, shows how abstraction can push a familiar scene to the limits of recognizability. Using unnaturally intense colors and faceted forms, the painter reinterprets a tranquil harbor in imaginative terms period.”

Russell Hausman
Art Historian and Critic (professional journal)
“Susan Zwirn’s impressionistic ‘Turbulent Reflections’ (acrylic) is a real beauty. A wooded landscape with a foreground of carefully woven strands of subtle colors that ‘catch the moment’ with rare sensitivity. Lots of poetry here.
The color harmonies are outstanding. The bottom two thirds of this painting are so good one is almost inclined to feel the upper third to have been neglected. This one would seem very much at home in a museum.”

Eric Ernst
Review of Selected Paintings, East Hampton Star
“Powerful Winter – Susan Goetz Zwirn’s painting ‘Winter’ offers a cascading cacophony of blues that are both random and ordered. There is a structure of chance evolution, as it were, that in its entirety is both quiet and evocative. The sense of cold is both palpable and powerful.”Powerful Winter, aka thoughts of Aaron

Robert Carriola
Professional Newsletter
“ ‘Best in Show’ award for ‘Main Street.’ The award winners were chosen based on the considerations for wholesome aesthetic order, command of tools and materials and transformation of matter into a new reality of illusion. The Best in Show Oil Painting embraces excellent composition in contemporary design shapes. Integrated high key colors with subordinate repeats for cohesion, and a particularly interesting space movement which fluctuates between a 2-D and 3-D illusion, the technique and concept is noteworthy.”

Carole PaquetteHuntington Press, 35th annual LI exhibit at Hecksher Museum”The works include the powerful mood piece…In Susan Goetz Zwirn’s ‘Thoughts of Aaron,’ blue and lavender shapes form a forest that is washed by lighter patterns which create tree trunks resembling legs.”