Born and raised in the Hunt Country of Virginia, Susan McAlister received her BA from Davidson College. She has studied alongside numerous acclaimed and professional artists including Eric Aho, Pat Lipsky and Herb Jackson.

Her paintings speak to a love of the land and a concern for the spirit of place. The artist has a keen ability to translate sensations into painting. Her lush, often abstracted landscapes are evocative and powerful explorations of her quest for places and things that nurture and inspire.

McAlister lives with her husband and three children in Charlotte, NC.

"Lost time cannot be recaptured, but the sensual experience of that past is relived in the transcendent layers of memory which Susan McAlister recalls in paint and wax. Following in the traditions of the diverse works of Faulkner, Gorky, Mitchell, Inness and Bearden, McAlister’s works invite us into the landscapes of our own space and time.”

Shaw Smith, Professor of Art History and Humanities at Davidson College

BORN
1963, Virginia

EDUCATION
Davidson College, B.A. 1985  Davidson, NC

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2023

  • Canopy. Les Yeux du Monde. Charlottesville, Virginia. September – October 31, 2023

  • The Space Between. Hidell Brooks Gallery. Charlotte, North Carolina. April 15- May 15, 2023

2022

  • The Table. Celebrating women artists at KW Contemporary Art October & November of 2022

2021

  • Evergreen. Les Yeux du Monde. Charlottesville, Virginia. May 22 – August 15, 2021

  • Confluence. Hidell Brooks Gallery. Charlotte, North Carolina. January 8 – February 19, 2021

2019

  • Current Art Fair. Richmond, Virginia. October 24 – 29, 2019

  • Field Days. Solo Exhibition. Les Yeux du Monde. Charlottesville, Virginia. October 2019

  • Echo. Hidell Brooks. Charlotte, North Carolina. September 2019

  • Forest Field Flora. University of Georgia Circle Gallery. Athens, Georgia. March 28 – April 30, 2019

2018

  • 20 Year Exhibit Hidell Brooks. Charlotte, North Carolina. June 2018-July 2018

  • Hidell Brooks Winston-Salem Pop-Up 2018

  • Hidell Brooks Richmond Pop-Up 2018

2017

  • Land Patterns. Les Yeux du Monde Solo Exhibit. Charlottesville, Virginia. October 6 – November 12, 2017

  • Natural Patterns. Hidell Brooks Solo Exhibit. Charlotte, North Carolina. September 8 – October 15, 2017

  • Recent Acquisitions. Van Every Smith Galleries. Davidson, North Carolina. July 2017

  • Women of Abstraction: Fran O’Neill, Susan McAlister, Rae Broyles & Page Davis. Sublime Original at the DeLo Gallery   
    Jacksonville, Florida. February 10 – March 10 2017

  • Hidell Brooks Winston-Salem Pop-Up. Winston-Salem, North Carolina. January 31– February 2, 2017

2016

  • GreenHill Center for NC Arts.  Winter Show Exhibition. Greensboro, North Carolina. December 4, 2016 – January 13, 2017

  • State of the Arts in Virginia. Senator Mark R. Warner’s Office. Washington, D.C. 2016 Collection

  • Made In The South.  Hidell Brooks. Charlotte, North Carolina. July 15 – August 31, 2016

  • ArtFields 2016. A South East Juried Art Competition and Festival. Lake City, South Carolina. April 22-30, 2016

  • The Art of Abstract.  Anne Irwin Fine Art.  Atlanta, Georgia. February and March, 2016

2015

  • Lost & In Paradise.  Hidell Brooks solo exhibit. Charlotte, North Carolina. September 11 – October 2015

  • Views From The Garden.  Les Yeux du Monde solo exhibit. Charlottesville, Virginia. August 21 – September 20, 2015

  • SCOPE:  The Southern Landscape. Visual Art Exchange. Juror: Will South, Chief Curator, Columbia Museum of Art ‘Signed & Dated’ awarded honorable mention. Raleigh, North Carolina

  • Twenty.  Les Yeux du Monde. Charlottesville, Virginia. January 9 – February 5, 2015

  • Introduction Hidell Brooks Gallery. Charlotte, North Carolina January 9 – February 28, 2015

2014

  • Small Works Show. Anne Irwin Fine Art. Atlanta, George.  December 2014

  • Southern Artists Southern Scenes. Anne Irwin Fine Art. Atlanta, George. September 19 – October 16, 2014

  • SCOPE: The Southern Landscape Exhibit. Visual Art Exchange. Raleigh, North Carolina. Juror: Will South, Chief Curator, Columbia Museum of Art

  • Les Yeux du Monde. New Visions in Still Life & Landscape. Jessie Coles and Susan McAlister. Charlottesville, Virginia. May 16 – June 15 2014

  • Mint Museum of Art Room to Bloom Auction. Charlotte, North Carolina

  • ArtFields 2014, Southeastern Juried Art Fair. April 25- May 4, 2014

  • Celebrate Latin, Charlotte Latin School Art Auction January 25, 2014

  • Visual Art Exchange, Contemporary South Juried Exhibition January, 2014; Juror: David Houston, Director of The Bo Bartlett Center Columbus State University College of Arts

2013

  • Claudia Heath Fine Art, Featured Artists John Beerman, Susan McAlister and Julyan Davies. Charlotte, North Carolina. December 5 – 20

  • Gibbes Museum of Art, Works on Paper. Charleston, South Carolina. November 2013

  • Carolina’s Got Art July Salon Show. Elder Art Gallery. Charlotte, North Carolina

  • Mint Museum of Art Room to Bloom Auction. Charlotte, North Carolina

  • Claudia Heath Fine Art, Charlotte, North Carolina. February 2013 Exhibit

2011

  • Low Country Open Land Trust Gala and Auction, Featured Artist, Charleston, SC