Artist Statment:

I’ve always been fascinated with the unsolvable mysteries that certain old photos present, particularly those that seem to hint at an unspoken social or emotional dynamic among several figures, or a subtext of thought within a single figure. These castoff moments of real or imagined drama provide the inspirational starting point for most of my work. I strive, through the subtleties of gesture, posture, facial expression and color to generate some sort of private narrative in the viewer's mind, often exploring the quieter and more contemplative elements of the bizarre.

My goal has always been to take the viewer beyond the image to reveal something of the unique spiritual essence of the subject, to expose something of the extraordinary within the ordinary, the dream within a moment of daily life, or perhaps the surreal in what appears to be a realistic setting. More and more often lately I find that these essential elements insist on manifesting themselves in the form of stray wildlife or totem animals.

Born and raised in New York City, Susan Falcon-Hargraves attended the New York School of Visual Arts, but was bitten by the "dance bug" early in her studies there. Invited to study dance at the prestigious Julliard School, she instead chose to join a professional company that was started by a teacher at the Martha Graham School. As an actress, she was singled out for small roles in Hollywood films, such as Boyz in the Hood, and received critical acclaim as well as critic's awards for her work in various Los Angeles theatre productions.

Falcon-Hargraves resumed her fine arts involvement in Arizona, where she earned a B.A. from Prescott College. In a scant five years, she has carved out an artistic niche in the Valley, winning top awards at juried shows. In 2007 the City of Glendale purchased the "Elephant in the Room" from her Eccentricities series, and she was selected as Phoenix Magazine's Artist of the Month for the March issue of 2008.

Says Falcon-Hargraves. “I strive through the subtleties of gesture, posture, color and facial expressions to generate some sort of private narrative in the viewer’s mind, often exploring the unseen planes of existence that thrive all around us, at our very fingertips.”

In the Spring of ’08 she presented a one-woman show at the West Valley Art Museum, titled “Dreams and Totems” and her work was prominently featured at the Arizona Museum for Youth show entitled “Table Manners” which ran through September of 2008. The MFY curator’s statement kindly cited her work as the inspiration for that show. Susan Falcon-Hargraves teaches at the BRIO Fine Arts Center in North Scottsdale.