Suzanne Adan

The story and art of Suzanne Adan, one of California’s best and most fastidious painters.
California Pop and Funk meet Chicago’s Hairy Who in Suzanne Adan's personal universes that combine fantasy, American vernacular culture, and autobiography. This publication assembles some one hundred and twenty of her paintings, drawings, scratchboards, and ceramics, along with supplemental illustrations and photographs, making it the most comprehensive survey of her work.
Adan developed her iconography and iconic style early on and became one of California’s best and most fastidious painters. Raised in Yolo, a village not far from Sacramento, she combines her small-town childhood and adult themes of innocence lost with a sense of humor, satire, and irreverence. In word and images, this publication captures her story and sardonic wit, with a twist of nostalgia that befits her practice.

Scott A. Shields, Ph.D., is the Ted and Melza Barr Chief Curator and Associate Director at the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento. He holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in art history from the University of Kansas, where his studies focused on American paintings, 1825-1940. Prior to joining the Crocker in 2000, he served as Curator of Fine Arts at the California Historical Society in San Francisco. For the past twenty-five years in Sacramento, Shields has added more than 20,000 works of art to the Museum's permanent collection and curated nearly 100 exhibitions. He has also authored numerous exhibition catalogues, including Artists at Continent's End: The Monterey Peninsula Art Colony; Echoes of the Earth: Ceramics by Toshiko Takaezu; Edgar Payne: The Scenic Journey; A Touch of Blue: Landscapes by Gregory Kondos; Armin Hansen: The Artful Voyage; E. Charlton Fortune: The Colorful Spirit; Richard Diebenkorn: Beginnings; Granville Redmond: The Eloquent Palette; Wayne Thiebaud 100: Paintings, Prints, and Drawings; The Candy Store: Funk, Nut, and Other Art with a Kick; and Breaking the Rules: Paul Wonner and Theophilus Brown.