Work samples

  • Libbey, late 1970s, 2022, Watercolor on Archival Paper, 12%22x9%22.jpg
    Libbey, late 1970s, 2022, Watercolor on Archival Paper, 12%22x9%22.jpg
    Libbey, late 1970s, 2022 Watercolor on Archival Paper, 12"x9"
  • Untitled 3, May 2021
    Untitled 3, May 2021
    Watercolor and Vintage and Contemporary Magazine Collage, 11"x15"
  • Cornflake Dive, 2020
    Cornflake Dive, 2020
    Watercolors and Archival LIFE Magazines, 14.75”x22” Comprised of archival LIFE magazines and watercolor collage papers, this series isolates the celebratory idealized white consumer targeted by midcentury American advertising and questions the absurdity of consumer leisure culture that excludes the majority of the American public in its fantasy.
  • Double St. Pete Spread, 2016
    Double St. Pete Spread, 2016
    Edition of 30 Hand Bound Artist Books, Digital Prints This spread is from American Monument, my edition of 30 hand-bound artist books examining franchise culture in America as it has evolved from the midcentury. Pictured in this spread are two postcards of the same Howard Johnsons taken from the same location 10 years apart. American Monument, 2016 Digital Print, Edition of 30 Hand Bound Artist Books

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About Suzy

Baltimore City
Suzy Kopf is a multidisciplinary artist who scrutinizes the paper ephemera of midcentury consumer culture to probe the enduring mythos of the American Dream. Through water media paintings, collages and site-specific installations she excavates archival materials and inherited nostalgia for planned utopias erected and cast aside. Vibrant and pastel colors unify her work across media and evoke the built landscape of the eroding Silicon Valley where she grew up. Conscious of how much byproduct can… more
View Suzy's Resume
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Juiced, 2022

A staple of American households from the 1940s onward, the orange juice glasses depicted in this watercolor series were sold in so-called “Hostess sets” that typically included a carafe or pitcher and six to eight glasses. Priced cheaply for everyday use, they sold in the millions with the two major midcentury manufacturers, Libbey based in Massachusetts, and Anchor Hocking based in Ohio, duking it out for market share. Atypical for the time and still in production today, Libbey’s whimsical designs were the byproduct of the Jewish female design team of Freda Diamond and Virginia Hamill. Diamond, who stayed at the company until the mid-1980s was recorded in a 1954 Life magazine as having “probably done more to get simple, well-styled furnishings into every room of the average U.S. home than any other designer.”

Today, the majority of these sets are incomplete and sold in antiques malls and thrift shops. The photographs these paintings are based on were found on Ebay and other resale websites, where lots of midcentury enthusiasts buy whatever remains they can find of this period of design.

  • Anchor Hocking II, 1960s, 2022, Watercolor on Archival Paper, 12”x9”.jpg
    Anchor Hocking II, 1960s, 2022, Watercolor on Archival Paper, 12”x9”.jpg
    Anchor Hocking II, 1960s, 2022 Watercolor on Archival Paper, 12”x9”
  • Libbey II, 1960s, 2022, Watercolor on Archival Paper, 12%22x9%22.jpg
    Libbey II, 1960s, 2022, Watercolor on Archival Paper, 12%22x9%22.jpg
    Libbey II, 1960s, 2022 Watercolor on Archival Paper, 12"x9"
  • Unknown Brand, 1970s, 2022, Watercolor on Archival Paper, 12”x9”.jpg
    Unknown Brand, 1970s, 2022, Watercolor on Archival Paper, 12”x9”.jpg
    Unknown Brand, 1970s, 2022 Watercolor on Archival Paper, 12”x9”
  • Anchor Hocking I, 1960s, 2022, Watercolor on Archival Paper, 12”x9”.jpg
    Anchor Hocking I, 1960s, 2022, Watercolor on Archival Paper, 12”x9”.jpg
    Anchor Hocking I, 1960s, 2022 Watercolor on Archival Paper, 12”x9”
  • Anchor Hocking, 1980s, 2022, Watercolor on Archival Paper, 12%22x9%22.jpg
    Anchor Hocking, 1980s, 2022, Watercolor on Archival Paper, 12%22x9%22.jpg
    Anchor Hocking, 1980s, 2022 Watercolor on Archival Paper, 12"x9"
  • Anchor Hocking, late 1970s, 2022, Watercolor on Archival Paper, 12%22x9%22.jpg
    Anchor Hocking, late 1970s, 2022, Watercolor on Archival Paper, 12%22x9%22.jpg
    Anchor Hocking, late 1970s, 2022 Watercolor on Archival Paper, 12"x9"
  • Libbey, 1960s, 2022, Watercolor on Archival Paper, 12%22x9%22.jpg
    Libbey, 1960s, 2022, Watercolor on Archival Paper, 12%22x9%22.jpg
    Libbey, 1960s, 2022 Watercolor on Archival Paper, 12"x9"
  • Libbey, 1980s, 2022, Watercolor on Archival Paper, 12%22x9%22.jpg
    Libbey, 1980s, 2022, Watercolor on Archival Paper, 12%22x9%22.jpg
    Libbey, 1980s, 2022 Watercolor on Archival Paper, 12"x9"
  • Libbey, late 1970s, 2022, Watercolor on Archival Paper, 12%22x9%22.jpg
    Libbey, late 1970s, 2022, Watercolor on Archival Paper, 12%22x9%22.jpg
    Libbey, late 1970s, 2022 Watercolor on Archival Paper, 12"x9"
  • Unknown Brand, 1960s, 2022, Watercolor on Archival Paper, 12”x9”.jpg
    Unknown Brand, 1960s, 2022, Watercolor on Archival Paper, 12”x9”.jpg
    Unknown Brand, 1960s, 2022 Watercolor on Archival Paper, 12”x9”
    •

    • Interior Landscapes, 2021

    Painted referencing midcentury advertisements for flooring and furniture, this series of watercolor paintings chronicles the many conflicting trends of American interior design in the twenty-first century.
    • Untitled 3, May 2021
      Untitled 3, May 2021
      Watercolor and Vintage and Contemporary Magazine Collage, 11"x15"
    • Interior Landscape 4
      Interior Landscape 4
      Watercolor on Archival Paper, 9"x10”
    • Interior Landscape 9
      Interior Landscape 9
      Watercolor on Archival Paper, 18"x24"
    • Interior Landscape 1
      Interior Landscape 1
      Watercolor on Archival Paper, 9"x10"
    • Untitled 1, May 2021
      Untitled 1, May 2021
      Watercolor and Vintage and Contemporary Magazine Collage, 11"x15"
    • Interior Landscape 5
      Interior Landscape 5
      Watercolor on Archival Paper, 10.25”x11”
    • Untitled 4, May 2021
      Untitled 4, May 2021
      Watercolor and Vintage and Contemporary Magazine Collage, 15"x11"
    • Interior Landscape 6
      Interior Landscape 6
      Watercolor on Archival Paper, 9.5"x12"
    • Untitled 5, May 2021
      Untitled 5, May 2021
      Watercolor and Vintage and Contemporary Magazine Collage, 15"x11"
    • Interior Landscape 7
      Interior Landscape 7
      Watercolor on Archival Paper, 10.25"x11"
    •

    • Ideal Consumer, 2020

    Comprised of archival LIFE magazines and watercolor collage papers, this series isolates the celebratory idealized white consumer targeted by midcentury American advertising and questions the absurdity of a consumer leisure culture that excludes the majority of the American public in its fantasy.
    • Ideal Consumer Installation
      Ideal Consumer Installation
      Installation shot of Ideal Consumer Series, Watercolor and Archival LIFE Magazines
    • Orange Inflatables
      Orange Inflatables
      Watercolors and Archival LIFE Magazines, 14.75”x22.25”
    • Surf Juleps
      Surf Juleps
      Watercolors and Archival LIFE Magazines, 14”x9”
    • Beer for Here
      Beer for Here
      Watercolors and Archival LIFE Magazines, 14”x10”
    • Pineapple Reflections
      Pineapple Reflections
      Watercolors and Archival LIFE Magazines, 14.75”x22.25”
    • TV Tea
      TV Tea
      Watercolors and Archival LIFE Magazines, 14.75”x22”
    • Cornflake Dive
      Cornflake Dive
      Watercolors and Archival LIFE Magazines, 14.75”x22”
    • Grass Marimekko
      Grass Marimekko
      Watercolors and Archival LIFE Magazines, 14.75”x21.75”
    • Crimson Chevy
      Crimson Chevy
      Watercolors and Archival LIFE Magazines, 14.75”x22”
    • Diamond Seltzers
      Diamond Seltzers
      Watercolors and Archival LIFE Magazines, 14.75”x22.25”
    •

    • Bow and Arrow, 2020

    Breezeblocks, or screen blocks, are decorative cinderblocks made of cement. They are used throughout the world to promote airflow and create a sense of partial privacy between public and private spaces. I made this 8’x6’ sculpture out of Foamular 250, a readily available lightweight housing insulation to question the original’s form and function.
    • Bow and Arrow Installation View
      Bow and Arrow Installation View
    • Bow and Arrow Installation View
      Bow and Arrow Installation View
    • Bow and Arrow Installation View
      Bow and Arrow Installation View
    • Bow and Arrow Installation View
      Bow and Arrow Installation View
    • Bow and Arrow Installation View
      Bow and Arrow Installation View
    •

    • Breezeblocks, 2018-2020

    In March of 2017 I was able to visit Levittown, Puerto Rico, a planned tract housing suburb and was inspired by the vibrancy of the homes there. Closer than their mainland counterparts to their original iterations, this housing community teleports midcentury design while being peppered with current automobiles and references to contemporary life.

    I returned to Levittown in February of 2019 to investigate for myself the recovery of the midcentury houses after Hurrican Maria. The resulting impressions are captured in this series of watercolors I made upon my return home.
    • Goldenrod
      Goldenrod
      Oil on Canvas, 40"x30"
    • Royal
      Royal
      Oil on Canvas, 30"x24"
    • Lemon
      Lemon
      Oil on Canvas, 28"x22"
    • Blush
      Blush
      Oil on Canvas, 24"x8"
    • Magenta
      Magenta
      Oil on Canvas, 17"x10"
    • Turquoise
      Turquoise
      Oil on Canvas, 8"x14"
    • Post Maria III
      Post Maria III
      Watercolor and Collage on Paper, 15”x11”
    • Post Maria XI
      Post Maria XI
      Watercolor and Collage on Paper, 15”x11”
    • Post Maria VI
      Post Maria VI
      Watercolor and Collage on Paper, 11”x15”
    • Install Detail
      Install Detail
      Installation view of Breezeblocks watercolor collages
    •

    • Leftovers: The Last Streetcar Sites, 2018

    I spent May 2017-May 2018 working with the archives of the Baltimore Streetcar Museum, seeking out historic images and then trying to locate in them in today's landscape. My focus was the remaining locations of various sites pertaining to the now defunct Baltimore City streetcar system. Once one of the most extensive transit systems in the world with over 400 miles of track,  the streetcars were taken out in 1963 and replaced by the current bus routes or nothing at all. The 39 watercolor collages in this series chronicle the only parts of the system that remain today— mostly waiting stations, powerhouses and monuments.

    In addition to the collages, this project consists of a printed 65-page catalogue of the sites so viewers can take a self guided tour if they are so motivated. I collaborated with local historian, Deb Weiner who edited my informational text on each location's history. In May 2018, I had a show at the Baltimore Streetcar Museum where the public was invited to flip through the catalogues, view the watercolors in person and ride streetcars.
    • Druid Hill Avenue Cable Powerhouse and Car House
      Druid Hill Avenue Cable Powerhouse and Car House
      Watercolor Collage, 9"x12" This watercolor collage is one of a series of 39 documenting the remaining streetcar sites in Baltimore City. The sites were then organized into a catalogue with history I wrote based on a year's worth of research in the Baltimore Streetcar Museum archives. Text From Catalogue: An architectural jewel of the streetcar era, the Baltimore Traction Company’s Druid Hill Avenue Cable Powerhouse and Car House lost half its structure in a spectacular five-alarm blaze in 2005. Built from 1889 to 1890, the massive Victorian Romanesque-style brick-and-stone building housed 38 cars and equipment that helped run Baltimore’s short-lived cable car system. For a nickel, the cars transported riders from Druid Hill Park to Patterson Park via a moving cable, which was pulled by a large underground cable wheel located inside the powerhouse. After six years of cable service, the Traction Company switched to a more efficient overhead electric streetcar system. Electric streetcars, previously considered dangerous, had recently become safer. When the streetcar companies merged in 1900, the United Railways and Electric Company inherited the building and used it as a car house and power plant until selling it in 1947 for private use as a warehouse.
    • Paradise Loop Waiting Station
      Paradise Loop Waiting Station
      Watercolor Collage, 9"x12" This watercolor collage is one of a series of 39 documenting the remaining streetcar sites in Baltimore City. The sites were then organized into a catalogue with history I wrote based on a year's worth of research in the Baltimore Streetcar Museum archives. Text from Catalogue: A late addition to the waning streetcar system, the Paradise Loop Waiting Station in Catonsville, just over the Baltimore City line, was built in 1944 in response to World War II rationing. It was built to shorten the route of the #8 at a time when not as many regular customers needed to go all the way to the end of the line.
    • White Street Sub Station
      White Street Sub Station
      Watercolor Collage, 9"x12" This watercolor collage is one of a series of 39 documenting the remaining streetcar sites in Baltimore City. The sites were then organized into a catalogue with history I wrote based on a year's worth of research in the Baltimore Streetcar Museum archives. Text from Catalogue: The White Avenue Substation, part of the electrical infrastructure of the streetcar system, was built to resemble a house in the neighborhood of Glenham-Belford. It still stands today as a rehab facility, Port Recovery. The substation served the #15 Belair Road and #19 Harford Road streetcar lines until 1963.
    • Lake Montebello Waiting Shelter
      Lake Montebello Waiting Shelter
      Watercolor Collage, 9"x12" This watercolor collage is one of a series of 39 documenting the remaining streetcar sites in Baltimore City. The sites were then organized into a catalogue with history I wrote based on a year's worth of research in the Baltimore Streetcar Museum archives. Text from Catalogue: The charming, Italianate-style Lake Montebello Waiting Shelter stands onHarford Road, a few hundred feet from Lake Montebello. It served the #19 streetcar line, which ran up Harford Road to Parkville. One of the line’s most popular destinations was just down the road from the station: Clifton Park, where the line took leisure seekers quickly along its right of way. Today the structure serves as a bus stop.
    • Falls Road Waiting Shelter
      Falls Road Waiting Shelter
      Watercolor Collage, 9"x12" This watercolor collage is one of a series of 39 documenting the remaining streetcar sites in Baltimore City. The sites were then organized into a catalogue with history I wrote based on a year's worth of research in the Baltimore Streetcar Museum archives. Text from Catalogue: Rumor has it that the #25 line’s Falls Road Waiting Shelter at Falls Road Terrace and Edgevale Road was built to serve the president of United Railways and Electric, who lived nearby and did not want to stand out in inclement weather. Made of Portland concrete, it survives today as a bus shelter while many of its contemporaries perished because they were made of wood. Otherwise, however, it is reminiscent of waiting shelters that were once throughout the system.
    • York Road Car House
      York Road Car House
      Watercolor Collage, 9"x12" This watercolor collage is one of a series of 39 documenting the remaining streetcar sites in Baltimore City. The sites were then organized into a catalogue with history I wrote based on a year's worth of research in the Baltimore Streetcar Museum archives. From the Catalogue: Car houses provided overnight storage for streetcars and often functioned as the origin or terminus of particular lines. The York Road Car House, also known as the Govans Car House, was designed by Baltimore architect E. Francis Baldwin for United Railways and Electric. It opened in 1908 to serve the #7 Irvington to Govans line and the #8 Catonsville to Towson line. Govans, originally known as Govanstown, was a middle class suburb annexed by the city in 1918. York Road’s origins go back much further: it started in the 1740s as a wagon trail connecting York, Pennsylvania with Baltimore and later became one of the area’s first paved roads. The York Road Car House is historic in its own way. It was one of the last to remain in use, closing in November 1963 when the final streetcar lines shut down. The facility is now used by Public Storage.
    • Installation of Leftovers at Baltimore Streetcar Museum
      Installation of Leftovers at Baltimore Streetcar Museum
    • Installation of Leftovers at Baltimore Streetcar Museum
      Installation of Leftovers at Baltimore Streetcar Museum
    • Installation of Leftovers at Baltimore Streetcar Museum
      Installation of Leftovers at Baltimore Streetcar Museum
    • Leftovers Catalogue
      Leftovers Catalogue
    •

    • Signs, 2017

    This series of watercolor collages developed after a visit to Las Vegas, NV and a reading of the architectural classic, "Learning from Las Vegas" by Denise Scott Brown and Robert Venturi. Inspired by midcentury Googie design this series is a fusion of collage and wallpaper design elements.
    • Signs I
      Signs I
      Watercolor on archival paper, 26"x31" (framed)
    • Signs II
      Signs II
      Watercolor on archival paper, 26"x31" (framed)
    • Signs III
      Signs III
      Watercolor on archival paper, 26”x31” (framed)
    • Signs IV
      Signs IV
      Watercolor on archival paper, 26”x31” (framed)
    • Signs V
      Signs V
      Watercolor on archival paper, 26”x31” (framed)
    •

    • American Monument: Installation, 2016

    This installation, American Monument, was the culmination of my MFA thesis work. Combining several projects I detail as projects below, this installation included Astroturf, hand screen printed wallpaper, nylon chairs for viewers to sit and read an edition of hand bound books I made, a display of my collection of Howard Johnson postcards, a series of framed drawings and an edition of screenprinted models.
    • American Monument, Installation View
      American Monument, Installation View
      American Monument, Installation View, 2016 MFA Thesis Show, Sheila and Richard Riggs Gallery, July 2016
    • American Monument, Installation View
      American Monument, Installation View
      American Monument, Installation View, 2016 MFA Thesis Show, Sheila and Richard Riggs Gallery, July 2016
    • American Monument, Installation View
      American Monument, Installation View
      American Monument, Installation View, 2016 MFA Thesis Show, Sheila and Richard Riggs Gallery, July 2016
    • GateKeepers
      GateKeepers
      Gatekeepers, Installation View, 2016 Screenprint and Watercolor on Archival Paper, Edition of 25 MFA Thesis Show, Sheila and Richard Riggs Gallery, July 2016
    • HOJOs Postcard Archive, Installation View
      HOJOs Postcard Archive, Installation View
      Artist's HOJOs Postcard Archive, Installation View Amassed in Maryland and Pennsylvania in 2016 MFA Thesis Show, Sheila and Richard Riggs Gallery, July 2016
    • Franchises, Installation View
      Franchises, Installation View
      Franchises, Installation View MFA Thesis Show, Sheila and Richard Riggs Gallery, July 2016
    • Untitled (Cars + Cameras), Installation Detail
      Untitled (Cars + Cameras), Installation Detail
      Over the course of six months I designed and screenprinted enough wallpaper to paper a twenty-foot gallery wall. The imagery of midcentury cars and cameras speaks to my interest in the evolution of design from that era. Untitled (Cars + Cameras), Installation View Handprinted Screenprint on Vintage Wallpaper
    • Cover, American Monument
      Cover, American Monument
      American Monument, Installation View MFA Thesis Show, Sheila and Richard Riggs Gallery, July 2016
    • American Monument, Installation View
      American Monument, Installation View
      American Monument, Installation View MFA Thesis Show, Sheila and Richard Riggs Gallery, July 2016
    •

    • American Monument: Book, 2016

    My practice is research based. For my MFA thesis project I wanted to share my research with viewers of my work so I created an edition of thirty 100 page hand bound books entitled, American Monument. The title of the book and installation it was part of  come from my belief that franchises are our most abundant and overlooked sources of American vernacular architecture in. Like monuments, franchises show us where we are right now as a culture and what we have committed to history.
    • Stack of American Monument Books
      Stack of American Monument Books
      American Monument, 2016 Edition of 30 Hand Bound Artist Books
    • Cover, American Monument
      Cover, American Monument
      American Monument, 2016 Edition of 30 Hand Bound Artist Books
    • Astroturf Spread
      Astroturf Spread
      American Monument, 2016 Edition of 30 Hand Bound Artist Books
    • Camera Spread
      Camera Spread
      American Monument, 2016 Edition of 30 Hand Bound Artist Books
    • Double Cars Spread
      Double Cars Spread
      American Monument, 2016 Edition of 30 Hand Bound Artist Books
    • Double Signs Spread
      Double Signs Spread
      American Monument, 2016 Edition of 30 Hand Bound Artist Books
    • Double St. Pete Spread, 2016
      Double St. Pete Spread, 2016
      Edition of 30 Hand Bound Artist Books, Digital Prints This spread is from American Monument, my edition of 30 hand-bound artist books examining franchise culture in America as it has evolved from the midcentury. Pictured in this spread are two postcards of the same Howard Johnsons taken from the same location 10 years apart. American Monument, 2016 Digital Print, Edition of 30 Hand Bound Artist Books
    • Pizza Hut Spread
      Pizza Hut Spread
      American Monument, 2016 Edition of 30 Hand Bound Artist Books
    • Stack of American Monument Books
      Stack of American Monument Books
      American Monument, 2016 Edition of 30 Hand Bound Artist Books
    •

    • Franchises, 2016

    A series of drawings of American fast food chains; some of the works depict the first of their kind, others the most typical. The drawings address the American obsession with the hyperreal and our celebration for the sign of something over the real thing. Pediments, cupolas and clapboard sides attached to stucco boxes symbolize the American tendency to deceive ourselves in the hopes of feeling better.
    • Franchises
      Franchises
      Series of 22, 11"x14" each, Pencil, Marker and Watercolor on Paper
    • Krispy Kreme
      Krispy Kreme
      11"x14" each, Pencil, Marker and Watercolor on Paper
    • Howard Johnsons
      Howard Johnsons
      11"x14", Pencil, Markers and Watercolors on Paper
    • Waffle House
      Waffle House
      11"x14", Pencil, Markers and Watercolors on Paper
    • Jack 'n' the Box
      Jack 'n' the Box
      11"x14", Pencil, Markers and Watercolors on Paper
    • Whataburger
      Whataburger
      11"x14", Pencil, Markers and Watercolors on Paper
    • Sandy's
      Sandy's
      11"x14", Pencil, Markers and Watercolors on Paper
    • Denny's
      Denny's
      11"x14", Pencil, Markers and Watercolors on Paper
    • Red Barn
      Red Barn
      11"x14" each, Pencil, Marker and Watercolor on Paper
    • Burger Chef
      Burger Chef
      11"x14", Pencil, Markers and Watercolors on Paper
    •