Susan Freda

Susan Freda’s love of the dress form began while she was a student at the Rhode Island School of Design and continued into her MFA at Massachusetts College of Art and Design. Her studies explored armor and body coverings, as well as traditionally feminine weaving techniques such as crocheting and knitting. Over time she developed a system of looping, similar to crochet, which has become a signature element in her practice. Using a spool of wire, Freda weaves continuously from a single strand to create intricate forms that are full of movement and luminescence, often adding elements of glass, resin, and handmade paper. Freda works with the interplay of line and light as vehicles for a type of three-dimensional drawing. Her dress forms are at once intimate, ghostly, whimsical, and fashionable, casting intricate shadows that dance across the wall.

Freda has been the recipient of a Pollock-Krasner Foundation award, a deYoung Museum residency, and a scholarship from Pilchuck Glass School. Her work has been presented and collected at New York Fashion Week, Stuart Weitzman, Neiman Marcus, Ferragamo, Meditech, Fidelity Investments, and Cirque Du Soleil, among many others.