Susan Gunn is a British artist. She was born in present-day

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tam ...

, England in 1965, and studied at

Norwich University of the Arts Norwich University of the Arts (NUA) is a public university in Norwich, Norfolk, United Kingdom that specialises in art, design and media. It was founded as Norwich School of Design in 1845 and has a long history of arts education. It gained ful ...

where she was awarded a First Class BA Honours in Fine Art Painting in 2004. In 2006 she was awarded the inaugural Sovereign European Art Prize. In 2014 she was commissioned to create a twenty-metre painting for the £11.6 million low carbon building project 'The Enterprise Centre' at the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...

in Norwich. She is a member of Contemporary British Painting. Gunn's artworks are made using traditional binders imbued with beeswax and linseed, natural earth pigments and layers of traditionally made gesso. The surface undergoes a natural process beyond the control of the artist and renders each painting unique.

The Sovereign European Art Prize

Gunn was awarded the inaugural Sovereign European Art Prize in 2006 ahead of 300 artists from over twenty countries with her 10 feet high red painting, Specto Specus I & II. Sir Peter Blake, one of the judges, said of her work "I think she is a very talented artist and her paintings are incredibly beautiful objects."

Selected collections

* The Priseman Seabrook Collection, England * Norfolk Museums Collection, England * Swindon Museum & Art Gallery, England * The Archant Collection; Arts Council England, East Collection * The Sovereign Art Foundation Collection, Hong Kong

Selected exhibitions

* 2016 – ''Ground,'' The Portico Library, Manchester, England * 2016 – Group Exhibition: Priseman Seabrook Collection, The Minories, Colchester, England * 2016 – Mandell's Gallery, Norwich, England * 2014 – East Contemporary Art: Place and Landscape, Waterfront Gallery, UCS, Ipswich, England * 2011 – Crossroads, Candlestar; International Women's Day Exhibition, London * 2011 – The Gallery at NUA, Norwich, England

Personal life

Gunn was interested in art at a young age attending a foundation course in art at

Bolton College Bolton College (previously known as Bolton Community College) is a further education college located in Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. The college is primarily based in Bolton, but operates a number of Community Learning Centres in the su ...

, England, she did not complete the course leaving at the age of eighteen to pursue a career in modelling and later launch a fashion business. She is married to

Bryan Gunn Bryan James Gunn (born 22 December 1963) is a Scottish former professional goalkeeper and football manager. After learning his trade with Aberdeen in the early 1980s, he spent most of his playing career at Norwich City, the club with which h ...

, a former professional footballer and football manager, who she met in Spain, where she had a bridal wear company. He proposed within three days of their meeting, and they were married the following year. They lived in

Framingham Pigot Framingham Pigot is a village and civil parish in the English of Norfolk. The village is located north-west of Loddon and south-east of Norwich, along the A146 between Norwich and Lowestoft. History Framingham Earl's name is of Anglo-Saxon ...

, near Norwich, until moving to Cheshire in May 2011. The Gunns have had three children: Francesca, Melissa and Angus. Their first child Francesca was diagnosed with

leukaemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...

and died aged two. Melissa is a model, while their son, Angus, is a professional footballer and plays as a goalkeeper, as did his father.

References

External links

Susan Gunn ArtistPriseman Seabrook Collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gunn, Susan 1965 births Living people 21st-century English painters 21st-century English women artists Alumni of Norwich University of the Arts Artists from Manchester English women painters