“FATHER’S DAY”: This oil on canvas painting by Sue Collier is featured in “Family Recollections,” on view June 17 through July 22 in the Taplin Gallery at the Arts Council of Princeton. An opening reception is on Saturday, June 17 from 3 to 5 p.m.

The Arts Council of Princeton (ACP) will present “Family Recollections,” an exhibition of figurative paintings from memory, imagination, and plein air by artist Sue Collier, in the Taplin Gallery June 17 through July 22. An opening reception is on Saturday, June 17 from 3 to 5 p.m.

Collier’s body of work showcases her intuitive understanding of the figure’s storytelling prowess. Vibrant colors dapple her pieces, charged with both an intimate emotion and a particularly American ethos.

“The figure remains central to most of my work,” said Collier, “but because of the nature of plein air, working with a time/light pressure, the figure is often omitted. Later in the studio, I will sometimes add figures. The figure is meaningful, it is the subject and tells the story, becomes the story, and makes the painting. I am observing experiences from my life, distinctly depicting Americans who were raised here. As fortunate as I think we have been as Americans, we are a complex people with unique understandings and feelings that I believe leaves us with an unusual psychological weight of emotions that I want to record.”

Collier is a Boston-born artist working and living in New York City. Her practice includes three directions: plein air, studio painting, and drawing. She earned her BFA and MFA and was awarded The Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture Fellowship from Boston University. She is also a 2020 NYFA Fellow in Drawing. SUNY-Purchase gave her half-time tenure and multiple awards. She was granted The Weir Farm Visiting Artist residency and has lectured at Dartmouth College, Queens College, Boston University, Kent State, Marymount Manhattan College at New York City and Tarrytown, and Adelphi University. She has been a board member of The Women’s Caucus for Art NYC and The Painting Center. Collier was included in the Mary H. Dana Women Artists Series and participated in the Art in Embassies Program exhibiting in Africa. Her work has been reviewed by The New York Times, The Boston Globe, Art News, Art in America, Art New England, and Women Artist News, among others.

Also on view in the Arts Council of Princeton’s Paul Robeson Center for the Arts are “Raíces,” an homage to México by Abelardo Montaño, and “Princeton is My Home/Princeton es mi Casa,” an ACP collaboration with the YMCA’s Princeton Young Achievers, a unique after-school program that helps children from low- and moderate-income families improve their school performance and English language skills through art.

The Arts Council of Princeton is located at 102 Witherspoon Street. Gallery hours are Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and Sunday 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Free and open to the public. For more information, visit artscouncilofprinceton.org.