Becky Suss | Puzzle (Les Coucous, Tapis Bleu et Rose, Henri Matisse, 1911) 24 x 18 x 1 inches, Oil on canvas, 2026
Jack Shainman Gallery presents Night House, a solo exhibition of new works by Philadelphia-based artist Becky Suss, on view from September 10 through October 31, 2026, at 513 West 20th Street, New York.
An opening reception will be held on Thursday, September 10, from 6:00 to 8:00 PM.
Continuing her ongoing investigation into domesticity, interiority, and memory, Suss marks a stylistic departure by utilizing the darkness and quietude of night to examine the emotional and psychological resonance of architectural space.
Through meticulously rendered, imagined interiors, the exhibition reclaims the nocturnal realm as a contemplative site for deepened perception and self-knowledge.
Throughout her practice, Suss has examined domestic environments—ranging from her grandparents' home to rooms drawn from literary fiction—interweaving personal, historical, and cultural references.
By focusing on domestic spaces traditionally occupied by women, she frames the home as a foundational realm where emotional lives develop and values pass across generations.
Although her canvases are devoid of human figures, they remain imbued with the presence of unseen inhabitants through dense arrangements of personal objects, books, and decorative elements.
Suss intentionally employs formal distortions—such as flattened architecture, warped perspectives, and exaggerated proportions—to emphasize the fluid, malleable relationship between objective reality and the reconstructed nature of memory.
In Night House, Suss shifts away from her signature bright, saturated palette toward a nuanced spectrum of deep blues, grays, and modulating blacks defined by delicate nocturnal light.
The exhibition opens with Night Garden, depicting a moonlit residential exterior that introduces the intimate interior scenes that follow.
Despite the descriptive density of patterned wallpapers and loaded shelves, each composition is defined by a profound stillness.
While her previous daylight-infused paintings obscured temporal boundaries, Night House focuses on the night as a transformative framework for contemplating the overlooked, inviting slow viewing as the eye acclimates to subtle variations in dark pigment.
Becky Suss | Bedroom (with cat and Albert Pinkham Ryder painting) 84 1/8 x 60 3/8 x 1 1/2 inches, Oil on canvas, 2026 4/4
The paintings also establish a dialogue between interior spaces and the natural world.
Recurring window motifs introduce shifting landscapes—ranging from blossoming foliage to frozen terrain—that echo the organic patterns found within the wallpaper designs.
Furthermore, the curated selection of ceramics, sculptures, and keepsakes populating her spaces reflects broader cultural histories while questioning what societies choose to preserve. Through these imagined architectural constructions, Night House balances a longing for those who are absent with the quiet necessity of solitary reflection.
Born in 1980 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Becky Suss received her BA from Williams College, an MFA from UC Berkeley, and attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in 2013.
Her traveling survey, Becky Suss: The Dutch House, debuted at the ICA Chattanooga in 2024 before presenting at The Baker Museum in Naples, Florida, and the Cheekwood Estate and Gardens in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2025.
Suss has presented solo exhibitions at the ICA Philadelphia and The Contemporary Dayton, with group presentations at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. She is also a recipient of the Pew Fellowship in the Arts.
Becky Suss | Night Garden 84 x 60 x 1 1/2 inches, Oil on canvas, 2025
