Scene and Un-Scene' is the title of Susan Knaap's exhibition at The NZ Academy of Fine Arts in Wellington. The title is a play on words - the paintings on display are about what is seen with the eyes as well as what is imagined; scenes that indicate a connection with the dramatic cloudscapes of Wellington as well as works that are purely abstract in nature. Scene and Un-Scene' is the title of Susan Knaap's exhibition at The NZ Academy of Fine Arts in Wellington. The title is a play on words - the paintings on display are about what is seen with the eyes as well as what is imagined; scenes that indicate a connection with the dramatic cloudscapes of Wellington as well as works that are purely abstract in nature.Susan's acrylic paintings are lush, multi-layered works which are often overlaid with subtle symbolic references to the spiritual and emotional dimensions of the Self, revealing Susan's background in Psychology and her interest in the transpersonal.

Susan Knaap is of Dutch descent, and lives in Stokes Valley, Lower Hutt. She works at The Learning Connexion School of Art and Creativity, Island Bay in the area of student support. In her spare time, she is also an art tutor and creative coach to beginning adult artists.

Susan is, by and large, a self-taught artist. Encouraged to paint as a child, she began selling her work in her late teens. However, a strong focus on career pulled her away from art for many years until she once again began painting in the late 1990's. Her painting style since then has run the gamut - from highly realistic still-lifes through to impressionism, post-impressionism and, latterly, abstraction and semi-abstraction.

In 2004, Susan was a finalist in the International Online Juried Symbolist Art Show and was personally invited to exhibit at the prestigious Florence Biennale (an international event recognised by the United Nations as an official partner in the 'Dialogue Among Nations' programme) in December 2005. She has accepted the invitation and, following the Academy exhibition, will begin painting a series of abstracted landscapes on strips of raw canvas. She intends to send her work over to Italy for the event and has received sponsorship by The Learning Connexion to do so. Her hope is to travel to Italy to participate in the week long event which will feature artists from around the world. To enable her to do so, she requires further funding and is currently seeking sponsorship.

'Scene & Un-Scene' can be viewed at The New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts, 1 Queens Wharf, Wellington from 2-17 April, from 10.00am to 5.00pm. Her artwork can also be viewed on Susan's website http://www.susanknaap.com.