Found materials have been favored over traditional art materials by many artists in the past, but the work of Grace Summanen brings a distinct and purposeful sensibility to this practice. Her manipulated and painted fabric configurations occupy a space between standard distinctions of painting and sculpture. The work presents scenarios that are at once familiar and strange, known but evocative of another, entirely invented, reality. Her past work involved a wider array of found objects, but currently she displays a greater sense of focus and honed exploration. The fabrics she incorporates serve as a peculiar and engaging kind of structure onto which she employs a heavily involved painting process. The results reveal the history of their making and an involvement that transcends the sum of their parts. In some cases, there is a sense that the paintings are simultaneously a depiction of imagery while  existing as that imagery itself. This seems  related to the way in which Jasper Johns'  paintings of flags and targets are depictions  of those subjects while at the same time being, in a sense, flags and targets. This can result in an oddly heightened sense of reality and can promote ruminations on the very nature of  reality and perception.

Summanen describes her work:

My work blurs the lines between high and low art by using everyday objects and materials. I create my painting surfaces with fabric, plastic bags, toilet paper tubes, or scrap paper. My installations include these same materials.  We live in a mass-producing, consuming,  and purging society. It is a part of who I  am; who we all are. I want the viewer to investigate what materials are used to create the artwork and change how they think about our every-day objects. We need to see the  magic that surrounds us. Currently in my paintings, I have been using folded fabric as a means to explore texture, line and movement. I have used curtains, blankets,  and scraps from other projects. Different fabrics  allow for experimentation with multiple textures and paint applications. Traditionally in painting, fabric is a common still life subject; but instead of painting the illusion of the fabric, I am painting the fabric itself. This abstracts the subject matter for inspection, exploration, and transformation. I am also interested in the traditional associations with feminine crafts.