NEW YORK, NY.- A Self-Made Artist Bridging Street and High Art
For five years, Argentine-American contemporary artist Susana Aldanondo established an unconventional and deeply personal studio practice in the streets of SoHo, New York. Transforming a public wall into her “street studio,” Aldanondo produced large-scale abstract works that subtly engaged the urban passerby. Her compositions—rooted in music, geometry, and emotional resonance—quietly captivated the public, dissolving the boundaries between the artist, artwork, and audience.
However, the impact of her work extended beyond spontaneous street engagement. Among the anonymous onlookers was a discreet observer: a key figure in global art collecting—The Virata Collection, led by a prominent Filipino collector and the founder of Asia Society Philippines. Over several months, the collector closely observed Aldanondo’s working process, returning frequently to witness her consistency, discipline, and intention. Struck by the originality and authenticity of her practice, the collector proceeded to acquire eleven of her works, now housed in The Virata Collection and The Marie Theresa Lamoglie Virata Family Collection in Manila. Her paintings now share space with seminal figures such as Cy Twombly, Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Lee Krasner, and Henri Matisse.
Significantly, Aldanondo is the only living artist represented within these collections—a distinction that underscores the exceptional nature of her trajectory.
Recognition Without Representation
Aldanondo’s ascent is particularly notable for having occurred outside traditional institutional support structures. She received no gallery representation, curatorial advocacy, or advisory promotion. “I did this alone,” she states. “Through persistence, risk, and authenticity.” Her narrative exemplifies an emergent paradigm in the contemporary art world, where discerning collectors are increasingly circumventing conventional gatekeeping mechanisms, instead forming direct relationships with artists whose practices resonate on personal, aesthetic, or philosophical levels. In this shift, collecting is reimagined as an intimate act of cultural engagement, rather than one determined solely by market logic.
The relationship between Aldanondo and the Virata family evolved beyond acquisition. The family hosted a private viewing of her work in SoHo and Manila, presenting it to prominent collectors and inviting critical feedback from respected art professionals, including independent advisor Elaine Kwok of Hauser & Wirth Asia. In a gesture emphasizing the value of Aldanondo’s work and journey, one of Aldanondo’s works was gifted to the President and First Lady of the Philippines—demonstrating the collector’s commitment to advancing the visibility and value of Susana Aldanondo’s work.
Credentials and Artistic Foundations
While her breakthrough emerged from the street, Aldanondo’s academic and professional credentials reflect rigorous artistic training. She holds an MFA from the NYAA in Tribeca, which she completed thanks to the generosity of a scholarship award from The Virata Family Collection. She also completed a residency at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, participating in the institution’s prestigious copyist program. Her education includes a Fine Arts Diploma from the Art Students League of New York, where she studied under established artists such as Larry Poons and Ronnie Landfield and participated in workshops by Frank Stella and Knox Martin. Her work has received numerous honors, including the Leonard Rosenfeld Award in Abstract Painting and a Merit Scholarship juried by curators from MoMA and PS1MoMA.
Beyond the Canvas: Practice and Counter-Culture Engagement
Aldanondo’s multidisciplinary practice includes painting, drawing, sculpture, performance, and ceramics. Her abstract work, rich with rhythmic geometries and dynamic movement, often engage with musical compositions. Meanwhile, her figurative works explore mythology, spirituality, and the female body through a symbolist lens. Her process enacts a critical inquiry into artistic visibility—questioning who is granted space within the art world and by what criteria.
Her decision to work publicly aligns her with a lineage of SoHo-based artists, including Yoko Ono, Shigeko Kubota, Sari Dienes, Alison Knowles, Rosemarie Castoro, and Colette Lumiere, Jean M. Basquiat, Keith Haring, among others. Like these figures, Susana Aldanondo blurs the line between art and daily life, producing work that exists simultaneously as performance, social intervention, and social commentary.
Her work in public challenges the distinction between “high” and “low” art, and creates an inclusive space where all—museum goers, patrons, critics, families, tourists, and individuals from all walks of life—can experience and engage with. As she notes: “By taking my work to the street, I’m questioning how value is assigned and I seek to engage in the counterculture of what art really means and how it belongs in the public space.”
Global Recognition and Interdisciplinary Collaborations
Aldanondo’s work has been exhibited in a variety of institutional contexts, including the Steinberg Museum, Queens College, the New York Foundation for the Arts, the Susquehanna Museum, Kino Saito Art Center, Taller Boricua, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Her paintings are included in the permanent collections of The Art Students League of New York, the Consulate of Argentina in New York, and in private collections of major cultural philanthropists such as Iris Apfel,Leonard Lauder, Sharon Jacob, the Rema Hort Mann Foundation, more recently the President and First Lady of the Philippines through the generosity of The Virata Family.
Her interdisciplinary collaborations include partnerships with musicians from the Juilliard School of Music, composers affiliated with Columbia University the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and tango ensembles such as Suarez-Paz Tango and Central Park Tango—reinforcing the synesthetic and cross-disciplinary nature of her practice. Aldanondo also collaborated with feminist performer Cuquita The Cuban Doll in performance highlighting women’s underrepresented realities in the arts at PS122 Gallery in the East Village, New York.
Reimagining the Artist–Collector Relationship
Susana Aldanondo exemplifies a renewed model of artistic success—one rooted not in institutional endorsement or market speculation, but in collector endorsement, public engagement, conceptual rigor, and personal resonance. Her story reflects a broader recalibration within the art ecosystem, where collectors are increasingly drawn to artists whose work reflects sincerity, courage, and vision. As she puts it: “It takes an educated and visionary mindset to understand how place does not necessarily conflate value. Challenging the perception of place and value is at the core of what I do. I’ve been fortunate to have met people who understand that vision and who understand the value of the work I create.”
The Virata Collection’s recognition of her work speaks about a collector’s ability to perceive value beyond institutional validation. As Aldanondo recounts, “I am his ‘accident’—their family collects work dead artists and they make acquisitions through blue chip galleries and auction houses. I became the only living artist in their collection.” This convergence of risk, recognition, and radical authenticity marks a significant case study in the re-emerging dynamics of artist–collector relations.
The best art collections have emerged from a unique vision, taking risks and following the heart, choosing work that the collector feels a deep connection and understanding with.
In the case of Aldanondo, the collector took the time to research and observe, consult and be advised, before committing to adding her to their collection. The collector made an educated decision based on research while it was also led by the valuable intention of Aldanondo’s work.
The Virata Collection prides itself in having “discovered” Aldanondo and propelling career through their support and recommendation of the artist’s work.
Aldanondo will have an Online Solo Show of work that Virata selected as their favorites. The show will be featured at Maciunas Gallery SoHo (online).
To learn more please visit:
www.susanaaldanondo.net
www.maciunasgallery.com
