Susan Olij is a Singaporean painter born in Indonesia, whose work navigates the perspective of an outsider. Travel is central to her practice—not just as movement, but as a way of seeing. Shaped by a life of cultural displacement, her paintings move between observation and abstraction, exploring the tension between belonging and estrangement. Working with drawing and painting, she uses formal techniques while also embracing spontaneity and experimentation. Her artworks are rooted in a sense of place, yet always view the world through the eye of a traveller—raising more questions than answers, bringing a new perspective to the familiar, and interrogating the complexities of identity and place. In her current work, she experiments with inserting language—such as signs and onomatopoeia —to push beyond formal composition
Her academic journey includes degrees in Fashion Design from Kent University and the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, She completed an MA in Fine Arts at LaSalle College of the Arts, where she then served as adjunct faculty in the School of Fashion until 2018 and continues to teach short courses.
Born in 1974 in Malang, Indonesia
Works and Lives in Singapore
Education
LaSalle College of Fine Art/Open University, Singapore – M.A. Fine Arts
Fashion Institute of Technology, New York, USA -Fashion Design & Merchandising
Selected Group Exhibitions
2024 Lost & Found, Group exhibition, Selegie Art Centre 22-24 Nov 2024
2023 Memories@58, USK Singapore x URA, 12 Aug - 14 Oct 2023
2022 SG Sketchers Group Exhibition, 3-5 June 2022
A Garden of Heritage: Landscapes and Landmarks of the Singapore Botanic Gardens
2011 Brainwaves, Robots, and The Flying Bicycle, Group Exhibition, Instinc Art Space, Singapore
2010 3331 Presents Tokyo, Command N Regional Code Asia Project 3331 Art Chiyoda, Single Channel Screening, Tokyo
Seven Day Weekend- L’Ecole de Beaux Art, Paris, France
2009 Constellations Video Art Project – In Between Spaces Art Collective. Brisbane, Australia
A Group Exhibition, Post-Museum Singapore
MEME- Masters of Art Fine Arts Exhibition 2009, ICA Galleries, LaSalle, Singapore
Images of Indonesia- Indonesian Heritage Society, Jakarta, Indonesia
2007 1x1x1- FOST Annual Exhibition – Fost Gallery. Singapore
Emerging Talent: four for the future – Sunjin Galleries, Singapore
2005 Me – Group Exhibition, Block43 Studio Gallery, Singapore
Solo Exhibitions
2014 Priceless, Artistry, Singapore
2011 Never Odd or Even, Puri Art Gallery, Jakarta
2007 Primadonna - a semi-sculptural solo exhibition, Tavolo@ Boon Tat, Singapore
Zerolinguistic - a solo exhibition of concrete art, Instinc Studio Gallery, Singapore
2006 Undeclared Existence - Solo Exhibition, Pitch Black Gallery, Singapore
Awards & Scholarship
2009 Third prize and Merit Award, Art and Photography Exhibition, Indonesian Heritage Society, Jakarta
2008 LaSalle Scholarship by Merit for MA Fine Art Degree
International Residencies and Workshops
2023 Espacio Lavadero, Granada, Spain
2019 Campos De Gutierrez, Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia
2014 Centre de Recerca I Creatio Casamarles, Catalonia, Spain
2010 A Window until the Rains Come, ALBB Saigon Open Studio program, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
2008 Taipei Drift, International Art Workshop for Art Academia. Taipei, Taiwan
2008 Canserrat International Art Residency, El Bruc, Spain
Professional Experience
2020 - present University of the Arts |LaSalle College of the Arts, Short Courses
2006 - present Olij Studio – Founder & Educator, Singapore
2010-2019 LaSalle College of the Arts, Singapore, Part-Time Lecturer – Fashion Design
Professional Development Lecturer – Fine Art, Drawing & Illustration
1997-2006 Halmode Apparel Inc, Head Designer – New York, USA & Singapore