The Artist & The Work
About the Work
Suzanne works in oil on linen for her most recent series Myth & Memory. These larger works look at life's pivot points (loss, transition, resilience, memory) through a lens of myth and magic. The personal and universal merge.
Her studio drawings are pastel on paper. These figure works try to celebrate the model as individual—and use color and line to interpret their energy or take the scene beyond the studio walls.
Biography
Suzanne Anderson lived and worked in the Berkeley/Emeryville California area from 1971 to 2024. She now lives in Muir Beach. California.
Born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, her family eventually moved to Sacramento, California where she grew up. Suzanne was lucky to have some amazing high school art instructors including Ralph Goings. His influence instilled a fascination with the beauty of the ordinary and tangible. Then experiencing the sixties and seventies added magic to that vision.
Encouraged by family to study architecture or design at University of California Berkeley, she graduated with honors while using the independent study programs to pursue her addiction to painting. A few years later she applied for the graduate program in painting at Oakland's California College of Arts and Crafts. She received her MFA in 1977 with highest honors in Painting.
She exhibited oils and watercolors at William Sawyer Gallery from 1978 until 1984. In 1983 she married and began working full time until her retirement. She has begun her artwork again—looking at her earlier art and joining the threads.
Resume
Selected Solo Exhibitions
1977 Graduate Show, California College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland, California
1977 Paintings, Discovery Gallery, Emeryville, California
1980 Realism, William Sawyer Gallery, San Francisco, California
Selected Group Exhibitions
1978 Introductions, William Sawyer Gallery, San Francisco, California
1980 New Realism, Group Show, Boston, Massachusetts
2019 Book Club Van Kleef exhibit, Harris Center for the Arts, Bank of America Gallery, Folsom CA
2020 Bird, Nest, Nature, Bedford Gallery, Walnut Creek, California
2020 Crocker Kingsley, Blue Line Arts, Roseville, California
2022 Book Club Van Kleef exhibit, Rhoda Goldman Plaza, San Francisco, California
2022 Emeryville Art Exhibition, Emeryville, California
2023 Emeryville Art Exhibition, Emeryville, California
2024 Emeryville Art Exhibition, Emeryville, California
2025 Figure as Story, Petaluma Arts Center, Petaluma, California
2025 Portraits, Art Works Downtown, San Rafael, California
2025 It's OK, But It Ain’t Right, Woodward Contemporary, San Diego, California
Artwork Sales
The artwork on this site are available for sale unless noted as Private Collection. Please inquire through the contact form.
All artwork and content are copyright © 2025 Suzanne Anderson-Carey.
Early Work
Birds on the Arno, 1981, oil on linen, 52 x 72 inches. Private Collection.
Professional Career
Suzanne Anderson paid her way in life with a professional career in visual design (after waitressing got a bit old). She had the great privilege of working at SFMOMA when it was located in the War Memorial Veterans Building on Van Ness. She redesigned the Museum's brand and graphics for the 50th Year Anniversary in 1985.
Professional Career
1977-1979 Editorial and Ad Graphic Designer, Berkeley Monthly
1979-1980 Art Director, Berkeley Monthly
1980 Art Director, Oregon Magazine
1980-1981 Art Director, Sheptow Publications, Moving Image and Photography Magazines
1980-1986 Art Director, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
1986-1998 Owner/Art Director, Anderson-Carey Design, Berkeley CA
1998-2000 Art Director, Fair Isaac, Inc., San Rafael, CA
2001-2015 Owner/Art Director, Anderson-Carey Design, Berkeley CA
2016-present Retired except for occasional projects
Awards
1968 Kingsley Art show award, Sacramento California
Career-wide Numerous design awards including Best In the West award for Italian Design Poster for SFMOMA
Her clients included Ames Gallery, Bedford Gallery, Berggruen Gallery, Emeryville Celebration of the Arts, Editions Limited, Fair Isaac & Company, Oakland Museum and many more.
Family
Suzanne's paternal grandfather Carl Oscar Anderson died when her father Harold was only one year old. He took his stepfather Richard Newman's last name. So Suzanne was born with the last name Newman. She legally changed her last name to Anderson and then later to Anderson-Carey.
Photo: Fred the dog helping at the computer.