Multidisciplinary artist, Susan Brinkhurst, our fifth and final 2026 Artist in Residence of the year, joins us from Suffolk, England.
Susan lives close to a tidal river, the River Alde, which plays host to the cultural and commercial history of East Anglia, and is an extraordinary area of biodiversity with its mudflats, wetland and riparian habitats. Consequential to her daily walks along the river, Susan became enamored of mud and the effects beavers have on soil conservation, drought/flood mitigation, and other ecological benefits of their work.
Knowing how beavers are reshaping parts of the landscape at Bernheim, Susan keenly observes their habitat and behaviors. She collects limb detritus from wind fall, mud, and other natural materials throughout Bernheim to work with and hauls them back to Lakeside Studio on foot.
Using her own strength to carry materials, without the aid of a vehicle or cart, echoes the physical and repetitive labor of beavers in their constructions. For her, it’s also an echo of the instinctual and repetitive domestic labor performed by women across millennia—carrying water and earthen materials, weaving and thatching them into home goods.
From the Artist:
My pieces emerge through direct encounters with the landscape. I often work with what I can gather—wood, mud, reeds, stones—allowing these materials to act as both medium and mark. Each drawing or sculpture becomes a physical exchange: a record of presence, attention, and response.
The act of making is repetitive, ritualistic, and meditative. It forms a cycle that folds time back on itself, reminding us of an earlier way of being—one more closely connected with the rhythms of nature. In this slow dialogue with place, the work becomes less about representation and more an invitation to pause, to sense more deeply, and to enter the circular rhythms that shape both land and self.
The Work of Water Exhibit, Reception and Lecture
Join us in celebrating Susan’s time at Bernheim by attending the reception for The Work of Water, an exhibit of her residency work, on Friday, October 23, 5 – 8 p.m. at Maybe It’s Fate Co-op Gallery (1425 Story Ave. Louisville, Ky., 40206). Her lecture will begin at 7 pm. The exhibit will be up through October 30. Free to attend.
Susan will be with us until October 31.
About the Artist in Residence
Susan exhibits regularly throughout Great Britain and Europe, including at institutions such as the Barbican in London and the Venice Biennale as well as has participated in artist residencies in Ireland and Cyprus.
