ARTIST STATEMENT
When I was growing up, one of my favorite pastimes was watching the sky; stars glittering and the moon floating in and out of clouds. As an adult, I became highly attuned to how I visually and emotionally perceive physical, personal and psychological spaces as I move through interior/exterior environments, and how the tangible, mental and emotion interruptions which often pierce or glide through these spaces alter it. (For example: clouds, utility lines, trees, thoughts). In my work, I often obscure the boundaries between natural and human-made space, line and form to symbolize our continuous transformation as we navigate or flow through our ever-changing surroundings. One minute you’re in the house warm and comfy, then you step outside, and you’re slapped by cold wind, shivering. My paintings and drawings are spaces in which to reflect on the simultaneous simplicity and complexity of this flow of being and, our relationship to natural and human-made spaces and structures. As American painter Mark Rothko said, “A painting is not a picture of an experience; it is an experience.”
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Sharon Swidler creates paintings and drawings which incorporate Minimalism, Color Field and Landscape. Her work has been exhibited nationally and is included in private collections throughout the United States. Sharon earned a BA and MFA in drawing and painting from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, IL. She has taught 2D Design, Drawing and Women in the Arts at the college level, and is currently an adjunct instructor at Oakton Community College in Des Plaines, Illinois.
© Sharon Swidler