Pat Steir: A Cartographer of Chance and Emotion Pat Steir, born Iris Patricia Sukoneck in Newark, New Jersey, in 1940, is an American painter and printmaker whose work has profoundly shaped the landscape of contemporary art. Her journey from early conceptual influences to her now-iconic “Waterfall” paintings—dynamic explorations of gravity, gesture, and chance—is a testament to her relentless curiosity and profound engagement with both artistic tradition and the unpredictable nature of creative process. Steir’s career, spanning over five decades, is marked by a consistent refusal to adhere t…