Artist Susan McDonald White has had two experiences that brought her life into focus and lent her work new meaning: White was diagnosed with a brain tumor and, later, suffered a near-fatal cerebral spinal fluid leak. Those experiences prompted White to leave a job as an art conservationist to focus wholly on her own work.
Following the operation to remove the brain tumor in 1991, White says that she became psychotic. Subsequently, she was placed in isolation under psychiatric evaluation, where she “lost the meaning of time and self.” She offers this information equivocally, providing no further insight into her work.
Fifty of White’s surreal, otherworldly drawings from the last four years can be in seen in the exhibit, Target Eyes and Gearworms: New Drawings by Susan McDonald White.
Through June 22. Opening reception: June 13, 5-8 p.m., 275 Pleasant St., Oxbow Gallery, Northampton, (413) 586-6300.