While pursuing a degree in molecular biology and masters in biomedical illustration, Sue Benner created her vision of the microscopic universe in painted and quilted textile constructions.  Her early work propelled her to become a studio artist in 1980, working primarily in the medium which later became known as the Art Quilt.

Sue is an innovator in her field, creating original dyed and painted fabrics which she combines with recycled textiles to form fields of structured pattern, vivid beauty, and riotous variation.

Sue’s artwork is in many private, corporate, and institutional collections.  She also lectures and teaches workshops nationally and internationally in the fields of surface design, textile collage, fused quilt construction, and artistic inspiration. Her work has been juried into Quilt National seven times, and she served as a juror in 2009. 

Living in Dallas, Texas with her husband, Craig Jett, and their two sons, Sue works in her studio built in the backyard of their family home.  However, a part of her heart resides still in her home state of Wisconsin.

There is always an underlying structure in my work, a set of rules.  I think of each piece as a small world where I can declare the laws of nature. 

My love affair with fabric began with my first memories of the clothes my mother made me, recalling exact hue, fiber content, and weave.  In the following years, my mother taught me to sew, carefully and creatively. 

My father always had a pencil in his hand or behind his ear, drawing on napkins in restaurants and painting on the weekends.  He inspired and encouraged me in art. 

My education in molecular biology and medical illustration still figures in my work with an underlying sense structure and organizing principles.  I see a direct connection with the concept of quilt and the assembly of units to make a larger whole.

I work on 5-10 quilts at a time, often in two different series.  This way of working suits the nature of my mind.  Series and ideas overlap, playing off of one another.  I use my visual vocabulary to weave my work together, creating patterns and layers of meaning.

I revel in the simple act of placing one fabric next to another.

Reservoir: John M. Walsh III Collects, San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles, San Jose, California; 2009.
Quilt National, Dairy Barn Southeastern Ohio Cultural Arts Center, Athens, Ohio; 2009, 2005, 2003, 2001, 1997, 1995, 1993, 1989.
The Quilted Surface V, Cultural Arts Center, Columbus, Ohio; juried; 2009.
Re-Use: Quilts Gone Green, The Works, Ohio Center for History, Art & Technology, Newark, Ohio; juried; 2009.
New Beginnings: Quilts by Texas Quilt Artists, Irving Arts Center, Irving, Texas; invitational; 2008.
Structure, Surface and Expression, Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, Winston-Salem, North Carolina; invitational; 2008.
Material Matters: Quiltmaking in the 21st Century, Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, Ohio; invitational; 2008.
Sue Benner: New Work, Jane Sauer Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico; solo; 2007, 2006.
Pieced Together: Historic Quilts and Contemporary Fiber Arts, Decorative Arts Center of Ohio, Lancaster, Ohio; invitational; 2007.
Give and Take, Robert Hillestad Textiles Gallery, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska; also Riffe Gallery, Ohio Arts Council, Columbus, Ohio; invitational; both 2007.
Thomas Contemporary Quilt Collection, Visions Art Quilt Gallery, San Diego, California, 2007.
Exhibit IV, Fine Line Designs Gallery, Door County, Ephraim, Wisconsin; three person; 2006.
SAQA: The Creative Force Then, Fall International Quilt Festival 2006, Houston, Texas; invitational.
EXPOSED: Contemporary Art Quilts, Noho Gallery, New York, New York; juried; 2006.
Explorations II, Ohio Craft Museum, Columbus, Ohio; invitational; 2006.
The Art of Crafts in America, Chautauqua Center for the Visual Arts, Chautauqua, New York; invitational; 2005.
Art Quilt XII, Alegre Retreat, Santa Fe, New Mexico; invitational; 2005, also, 2004, 2003, 2002.
The Edge of Color, Marie Park Private Dealer, Dallas, Texas; two-person; 2004.
Festival of Quilts: Featured Artist, Birmingham, England; solo; 2004.
Explorations, Wesserling Textile Museum, Mulhouse, France; invitational, organized by Quilt Surface Design Foundation; 2003.
Fresh Color, Fine Line Designs Gallery, Ephraim, Wisconsin; two-person; 2003.
Art Quilts Now, Paine Art Center, Oshkosh, Wisconsin; invitational; 2003.
Fabric Constructions, Leedy-Voulkos Gallery, Kansas City, Missouri, invitational with Surface Design Association; 2003.
Thirteen Moons Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico; solo or two-person; 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000.
Annual Contemporary Quilt Exhibition, Gross McCleaf Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; 2004, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999, 1998.
Inspirations, Improvisations, Interpretations, Quilt & Art, Mülheim am Main, and Kloster Irsee, Germany; 2001.
Oxymorons: Absurdly Logical Quilts, Museum of the American Quilter’s Society, Paducah, Kentucky (and U.S. tour).
Sue Benner: Homeland, Fine Line Designs Gallery, Ephraim, Wisconsin; solo, 2001.
Silk and Paint, Marie Park, private dealer, Dallas, Texas; 2000, 1996, 1992.
Lucky Tomato Pincushion Project, Linda Schwartz Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio; 2000, Lake Farmpark, Kirtland, Ohio; 1999.
Abstract Connections, Art and Cultures Gallery, Alverno College, Milwaukee Wisconsin; 1999.
Pushing the Surface, Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum, Coshocton, Ohio; 1999.
The 5th Quilt Nihon Exhibition, Tokyo, Japan (and tour); Judge Tadanobu Seto Prize; 1998.
Visions: Quilt Expressions, Museum of San Diego History, San Diego, California (and U.S. tour); 1998, 1996, 1994, 1992.
Transformed: Textiles as an Expressive Medium, Natal Society of Arts, Durban, South Africa; 1998.
Quilts: A Vibrant Journal, Museum of the American Quilter’s Society, Paducah, Kentucky; solo, 1994.
Quilts Now,  Oklahoma City Art Museum, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; invitational; 1994.
Quilts: A Vibrant Journal, Neville Public Museum, Green Bay, Wisconsin; 1993; Lucy Berman Gallery, Palo Alto, California; 1994.
Crafts National 27, Zoller Gallery, Penn State University, University Park, Pennsylvania; 1993.

WORKSHOPS, LECTURES, JUDGING

Quilt National 2009, juror.
Studio Art Quilt Associates, Panel Discussion, 2009, Keynote Speaker, 2001, Lecture, 1995.
Quilt/Surface Design Symposium, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2000, 1998, 1996, 1992.
Crow Timber Frame Barn, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2004.
Art Quilt Tahoe, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2001.
Empty Spools Seminars, Asilomar, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003.
PIVA, St. Moritz, Switzerland, 2006.
East Bay Heritage Quilters, 2006, 1996.
Quilters' Guild of Dallas, 2005, 1999.
Festival of Quilts, Birmingham, England, 2004.
Alegre Retreat, with Katie Pasquini-Masopust, 2003.
Front Range Contemporary Quilters, 2003, 1998.
Arkansas Quilters Guild, 2002.
Fiber Artist Federation of San Antonio, 2002.
Quilting-By-The-Lake, 2001.
Quilters Quest, 2001.
Merrimack Valley Quilters, 2001.
Patchwork/Quiltseminar in der Schwabenakademie Irsee, Germany 2000.
Quilt & Art, Mülheim am Main, Germany 2000.
Quilt Nebraska, Keynote Speaker, workshop, 1993.

SELECTED PUBLISHED WORKS

 EDUCATION

University of Texas Health Science Center at Dallas, Southwestern Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, M.A. in Biomedical Communication/Illustration,1978-1980, 1984

University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh, Art Studies, 1977-1978

University of Wisconsin - Madison, Honors Program B.S. in Molecular Biology, 1977, Phi Beta Kappa, 1976, 1977, UW-Madison Communications Award, 1977