Allie Sutherland

Allie Sutherland, featured in the Time Capsule Exhibition, is a New York-based artist who depicts subconscious dreamscapes inspired by primordial mythological narratives that define the conscious experience. Trained as a classical architect, she is drawn to structure while allowing it to yield to intuition. Sutherland holds a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from Syracuse University, and is currently pursuing a Master’s in Art Education at Columbia University Teachers College. She will be attending the Royal College of Art in London in September 2026 for the MA Painting program.


Artist Statement

Surrealist automatism is a practice of artistic channeling. While architectural training grounds my work, automatism is its central facet. My paintings begin with non-dominant hand brushstrokes to stimulate my subconscious mind. Impasto texture inspired by Expressionism roots my work in tangibility, and calligraphic strokes inspired by Shodo beckon it towards the ethereal. I weave these undulating threads, seeing each color as an energetic current to be coaxed into a larger formation. Rooted in mythology and spirituality, my work explores primordial narratives that shape human consciousness. Born out of optimism, even when the subject matter holds tension, each work has taught me a lesson, healed a wound or both. In L’amour fou, André Breton writes about the dominion of the senses where the animate and inanimate converge, resulting in an internal lumen proliferating from its own source. I believe painting bridges that consciousness gap, allowing us to hold onto a glimmer of truth.


https://www.alliesutherland.com/