Susan Hoffer is a Lake Placid, NY-based figurative artist who paints ordinary people in their own work or home spaces while highlighting their private sentiments. Through a process-based practice that embraces formal and material experimentation she explores the poetic relationships in reimagined settings informed by her experiences living in a rural Adirondack community and by real conversations with her neighbors in real time.

Hoffer’s work gives voice to those individuals who are often overlooked, ignored, or caricatured in larger cultural conversations. Her struggles as a single mother and first-generation college graduate have shaped her views on the ways art can be transformative for those seeking common ground between diverse and differing viewpoints.

A life-long relationship with the Adirondacks has given Hoffer a unique understanding of the issues that face those living in this remote, cold region known for containing pockets of wealth surrounded by acres of poverty. Her work invites viewers into moments of quiet tension and connection, encouraging reflection on how we see—and live with—one another.

Hoffer has established herself as one of upstate New York’s leading contemporary figurative painters. Her use of light, composition, and meticulous detail on hardwood substrates recalls generations of painters before her, including Renaissance masters. Her work is included in public and private collections, including the permanent collections of the Albany Institute of History and Art, Albany, NY and the Adirondack Experience Museum, Blue Mountain Lake, NY.

Solo exhibitions throughout New York State have included the Lake George Arts Project, the Schweinfurth Museum, and The Capital Region Art Center, Troy, and Hoffer is currently preparing for a solo exhibition at the Arkell Museum, Canajoharie. She is the recipient of fully funded residencies at the Sam and Adele Golden Foundation Artist Residency and the Vermont Studio Center, and several grants including a New York State Council for the Arts Support for Artists grant.