Sue Gosin
American, b. 1950; MFA 1976
Lives and works in Princeton, New Jersey
Dieu Donné Press, New York, New York
Edition of 50
In 1976, Gosin co-founded Dieu Donné, a nonprofit cultural institution, with Bruce Wineberg “to explore the untapped potential of hand papermaking as an art medium.” It serves established and emerging artists by providing papermaking classes, community studio space, various residencies, internships, and tours and workshops for adults and children. UW–Madison alumnus Paul Wong was the organization’s first artistic director. The publishing imprint, Dieu Donné Press, began in Brooklyn, Wisconsin, in 1975, and moved to New York the following year.
Born outside of New York City, Sue Gosin grew up in a papermaking family. Her father worked for the paper company Kimberly-Clark and moved the family to Neenah, Wisconsin, when Gosin was 10. After graduating from Beloit College, she studied with Walter Hamady and Warrington Colescott at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, receiving her MFA in 1976. She moved to New York City later that year and co-founded Dieu Donné Press and Paper in Soho, experimenting with fibers from the garment district, collaborating with artists new to the paper medium, and producing illustrated, letterpress-printed books. Around 1987, Gosin split Dieu Donné into a press and papermill, the latter a nonprofit organization that offers educational and artist-in-residence programs. Over the years, Gosin has designed and published artists’ books featuring a number of artists and poets, including Mark Strand, Lesley Dill, Tom Sleigh, William and Eliza Kentridge, Jerome Rothenberg, and Colescott. Her fascination with watermarks began with a research paper for Hamady’s class and later led her to consult with Crane, which manufactures paper for U.S. currency, for a project with Chuck Close. In 2018, Gosin and Mina Takahashi co-curated the exhibit Paper/Print: American Handpapermaking, 1960s to Today at the International Print Center New York.
