Suellen Rocca

Suellen Rocca was an artist and educator with deep roots in the Chicago area. She graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1964 and two years later began exhibiting her paintings at the city’s Hyde Park Art Center, with a group of artists who became known as the Chicago Imagists. This group of painters shared a similar irreverent style and approach to art making that often involved detailed making processes, clearly delineated forms, bright colors, and humor. Rocca, like many Imagists, often used shapes and imagery taken from advertisements and comics, as well as other materials culled from pop culture. She was also an art educator who directed an organization that sent professional artists to teach in Chicago public schools, and taught painting, drawing, and design studio classes at Elmhurst College, in addition to curating the college’s art collection.