Sherry Karver
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Camouflage Light / View From the Other Side, diptych
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Taking It For Granted |
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Memory
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ARTIST'S STATEMENT- Urban / City Series
My current series of photo-based work originates from photographs I have taken on city streets in New York and at Grand Central Station. I am expanding and shifting the parameters of traditional photography by combining it with digital technology, oil painting, and occasional text. By blending the distinctions between these areas, it enables me to push beyond their conventional boundaries to create a new format.
I was born and raised in Chicago, so my work is informed by city life and the multitude of issues we encounter living in a large city: loneliness and alienation in our fast-paced society, the concept of personal identity and the loss of it, the individual as part of the crowd, the passage of time, and finding ourselves somewhere in the process.
Around 2000 I began writing text over some of the people in my photos in an attempt to personalize or individualize them, and make them stand out from the crowd. These brief stories about the figures are from my imagination, based solely on their appearance or stance. By using written narrative in my work, it creates a public/private dichotomy, giving the viewer an opportunity to "experience" the artwork. One can become a part of the process by reading it, rather than simply looking at an object from a distance, creating a greater impact and duration in its effect on the viewer.
I superimpose these "biographies" on top of the people, almost as if they are wearing their stories like an article of clothing. I try to give a little bit of history about the person; where they are from, their age, what they do, their hopes, their dreams, and often something embarrassing or personal that they would rather not have revealed.
In my work the documentary nature of the photograph merges with the painterly qualities of oil, establishing a dialogue and tension between the two. I mount my black & white images on top of 2 5/8" deep wood panels, and hand paint them with numerous layers of oil glazes to build up the color, combining the old master technique of glazing with contemporary photo/digital technology. This gives each piece a lush surface and makes it stand out as a painting, rather than a print
The surface is left intentionally glossy so that in various light, the viewer can see his/her own reflection. This concept can also be seen in other artist's work such as Francis Bacon. The following quote by Hugh M. Davies from a Bacon catalogue in 1999 explains it well. "He reveled in the fortuitous reflection of the viewer superimposed in the painting, as each of us becomes complicit with the painter, as both a protagonist and voyeur". This is exactly how I also like to engage the viewer with my work.
My work embraces the contemporary non-linear view of time
with its randomness, spontaneity, and chance occurrences. The figures
are often in movement, conveying our individual voyages. I look at them
as an outside observer, watching the scene. The location itself has been
the point of arrival and departure for generations, and is a metaphor
for our journey through life - A journey where we are "collectively
alone".
Biography
BORN:
1955 Chicago, Illinois
EDUCATION:
MFA Master of Fine Arts, Newcomb School of Art, Tulane University, New
Orleans, Louisiana
BA Bachelor of Arts, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana
School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS:
2008 Lisa Harris Gallery, Seattle, Washington
Kim Foster Gallery, New York, New York
2007 Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History, Santa Cruz, California
Morris Graves Museum of Art, Eureka, California,
2006 Sue Greenwood Fine Art, Laguna Beach, California
2005 Lisa Harris Gallery, Seattle, Washington
2004 Lew Allen Contemporary Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Kidder Smith Gallery, Boston, Massachusetts
Greenwood/Chebithes Gallery, Laguna Beach, California
2003 Lisa Harris Gallery, Seattle, Washington
Greenwood/Chebithes Gallery, Laguna Beach, California
2002 Lew Allen Contemporary Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
2001 Lisa Harris Gallery, Seattle, Washington
2000 Lew Allen Contemporary Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Olga Dollar Gallery, San Francisco, California
1999 LewAllen Contemporary Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
1998 Olga Dollar Gallery, San Francisco, California
1996 Hebrew Union College, New York, New York
Pence Gallery, Davis, California
1995 Berkeley Hillel, Reutlinger Center, Berkeley, California
1993 Joy Horwich Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
1992 First and Third Floor Galleries, Marin Civic Center, San Rafael,
California
1989 Art in Public Places, "Artspots," Concord, California
George Lithograph, Corporate Headquarters, San Francisco, California
1988 American Institute of Architects, Oakland, California
1987 Ohio Wesleyan University, Art Gallery, Delaware, Ohio
Walnut Creek Civic Arts Gallery, Lobby Installation, Walnut Creek, California
TWO AND THREE PERSON SHOWS (SELECTED):
2007 Ft. Collins Museum Of Contemporary Art, Ft. Collins, Colorado
2005 Kidder Smith Gallery, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts
2001 Diane Nelson Fine Art, Laguna Beach, California
2000 Lisa Harris Gallery, "Millennium: Three Introductions,"
Seattle, Washington
1999 Gwenda Jay/Addington Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
1998 Stanford University, Center for Integrated Systems, Stanford, California
Albertson/Peterson Gallery, Winter Park, Florida
Olga Dollar Gallery, "Allegories," San Francisco, California
1996 The National Jewish Museum, Washington, D.C.
Joy Horwich Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
1994 Sunrise Fine Art Gallery, San Francisco, California
1992 Davis Art Center, Davis, California
1991 The Stone Art Gallery, "The 2nd & 3rd Dimension in Clay,"
Oakland, California
1989 Koret Gallery Exhibit, Palo Alto, California
1988 San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Rental Gallery, San Francisco,
California
GROUP SHOWS (SELECTED):
2006 Kim Foster Gallery, New York, New York
University of Wisconsin, "SuperVision", Eau Claire, Wisconsin
2004 20th Anniversary Show, Lisa Harris Gallery, Seattle, Washington
2004 Reversing Vandalism, San Francisco Public Library, San Francisco,
California
2003 Greenwood/Chebithes Gallery, "Inaugural Exhibition," Laguna
Beach, California
2002 Jan Baum Gallery, "Figure It Out," Los Angeles, California
2000 Shenson Gallery, Triton Museum, "Bittersweet Legacy," Santa
Clara, California
San Francisco City College & 743 Gallery, "High Tech/High Touch,"
San Francisco, California
1999 Olga Dollar Gallery, San Francisco, California
1998 San Francisco Art Commission Galleries, San Francisco, California
1997 Triton Museum, Santa Clara, California
The National Jewish Museum, Washington, D.C.
Lisa Parker Fine Arts, New York, New York
1996 John Natsoulas Gallery, Thirty Ceramic Sculptors '96, Davis, California
Platt Gallery, University of Judaism, Los Angeles, California
1995 John Natsoulas Gallery, "Thirty Ceramic Sculptors, '95, "
Davis, California
Downey Museum, "Exploring a Movement: Feminist Visions in Clay,"
Downey, California
1994 Dorothy McRae Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia
1993 Jewish Museum, "About Face, " San Francisco, California
Honolulu Art Academy, Pacific Rim Ceramic Sculpture Exhibition, Honolulu,
Hawaii
California Crafts Museum, "West Coast Clay, The New Breed,"
San Francisco, California
1992 Bedford Gallery, "Images of Us," Regional Center for the
Arts, Walnut Creek, California
1991 ART of CALIFORNIA Magazine, Discovery Award Exhibition, Los Angeles,
California
1990 Oakland Museum, "Oakland's Artists," Oakland, California
Judah A. Magnes Museum, "Personal Landscapes - Universal Visions,
" Berkeley, California
EXHIBITIONS: JURIED (SELECTED):
2003 Center for Photographic Art, juried by Tim Wride and Barbara Sinsheimer,
Carmel, California
2000 Crocker Museum of Art, Crocker-Kingsley 72nd Biennial Exhibition,
Sacramento, California
1999 Women's Caucus for the Arts, National Conference, Los Angeles, California
1998 Crocker Museum of Art, Crocker-Kingsley 71st Biennial Exhibition,
Sacramento, California
1997 Pacific Rim Sculptors Exhibition, San Francisco, California
1995 International Exhibition, "Fletcher Ceramic Challenge,"
Aukland, New Zealand
1994 Downey Museum of Art, "Ceramics Now 1994," Downey, California
1993 Everson Museum of Art, "29th Ceramic National Exhibition, "
Syracuse, New York, traveling to the Newark Museum, Newark, New Jersey
San Angelo Museum of Fine Art,"8th Annual Ceramic Competition,"
San Angelo, Texas
1992 Matrix Gallery, National Women's Exhibition, Sacramento, California
1991 Downey Museum of Art, "Ceramics Now 1991, " Downey, California
Clary-Miner Gallery, Arts & The Woman, Buffalo, New York
1990 Long Beach Art Association, San Jose Art League, "Two-Dimensional
Reality, " San Jose, California
1989 Seven Western State Open Juried Exhibit, Long Beach, California
1986 San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, National Exhibition, San Angelo,
Texas
PUBLIC / CORPORATE COLLECTIONS AND COMMISSIONED WORKS:
Adobe Corporation, Mountain View, California
Alameda County Art Commission, Oakland, California
Apple Corporation, Cupertino, California
Bemidji State University, Bemidji, Minnesota
California State Teachers Retirement System, Sacramento, California
Copan, Seattle, Washington
Corporate Net Leasing at City Commons
Crocker Museum of Art, Sacramento, California
Deloitte & Touche
DPR Construction Company, Redwood, City, California
Earthcam Inc, Hoboken New Jersey
El Camino Medical Center, Sunnyvale, California
ESL Corporation, Santa Clara, California
Frederick Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Harrison Museum of Art, Utah State University, Logan, Utah
Harvey's Restaurant, Boston, Massachusetts
Kaiser Hospital Medical Offices, Mountain View, California
Kaiser Hospital, Martinez, California
Kemper Tool Company, Chino, California
La Rinconada Country Club, Los Gatos, California
Life Scan Corporation, Milpitas, California
Louisiana Crafts Council, New Orleans, Louisiana
Merck Pharmaceutical, Philadelphia, Atlanta
Pacific Gas & Electric Company, San Ramon, California
Rhoda Goldman Plaza
San Francisco City Hall, Assistant City Attorney, San Francisco, California
Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History, Santa Cruz, California
Shoreline Office Center, Mill Valley, California
Temple Isaiah, Los Angeles, California
Temple Sinai, Oakland California
Top of the Hub Restaurant, Boston, Massachusetts
United Airlines, San Francisco, California
Varian Corporation, Palo Alto, California
Voyager Capital, Seattle, Washington
Willow Pass Recreation Center, Concord, California
SLECTED PUBLISHED RECOGNITION: PHOTOS, ARTICLES & REVIEWS:
Art World Magazine, United Kingdom, 2008
North Coast Journal, Eureka, CA, Review by Katherine Almy, 2007
American Art Collector, National Magazine, Arizona, 2006
San Francisco Chronicle newspaper, San Francisco, California, 2006
LILITH Magazine, New York, 2006
Homeowner Haiku, Co-author with Jerry Ratch, December 2005
The Magazine, Poetry/Photo Issue, Santa Fe, New Mexico, September 2005
Cover, City Economics by Brandon O'Flaherty, Harvard University Press,
2005
Homeowner Haikus, Co-author w/ Jerry Ratch, October 2005
THE Magazine, Photo Issue, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 2005
Let's Do, by Rebecca Meacham, cover, University of North Texas Press,
2004
Slate, on-line magazine, Reversing Vandalism, by Lisa Davis, 2004
100 Artists of the West Coast, Douglas Bullis, Atelier Books, 2003
Los Angeles Times, by Bobbie Allen, 2003
Population Change in Canada, cover, Beaujot & Kerr, Oxford University
Press, 2003
Sociology, John Macionis, Prentice Hall, 2003
Seattle Post-Intelligencer, by Victoria Josslin, 2003
LILITH Magazine, Fall 2002
THE Magazine, June 2002
The New Mexican, June 2002
The New Mexican, May 2002
ArtWeek, cover and review by Victoria Josslin, December 2001
ArtAccess. By Molly Rhodes, October 2001
Wild Dreams of Reality, by Jerry Ratch,cover art, Creative Arts Books
2001
Against Essentialism, by Stephen Fuchs, cover art, Harvard University
Press, 2001
The Green Hills Literary Lantern, cover art, 2001
Bittersweet Legacy, by C. Brody, 2001
LILITH Magazine, cover art, Spring 2001
New American Paintings, Pacific Coast, 2000
THE Magazine, by Diane Armitage, Santa Fe, New Mexico, November 2000
Five Fingers Review, cover art, 2000
The Green Hills Literary Lantern, 2000
Gravy, River North, Vol 1, #3, February 1999
Rattapallax Journal, Winter 1999
Santa Fean Magazine, April 1999
New American Paintings, Pacific Coast, Winter 1998
Sacramento Bee, April 1998
Sacramento News & Review, 1998
LILITH Magazine, Fall 1997
Oakland Tribune, October 1997
LILITH Magazine, Spring 1996
Ceramics Monthly, November 1996
NIMROD Magazine, cover art, Winter 1995
OXYGEN magazine, cover art, Fall & Summer 1995
Artweek, September 1994
510 Magazine, cover art, December 1994
Resource Magazine, cover, January 1994
Ceramics Monthly, January 1994
Artweek, April 1993
Jewish Bulletin, California, September 1992
Art of California Magazine, October/November 1991
Ceramics Monthly, January 1991
Artweek, April 1990
The California Art Review, 1989
AWARDS:
2005 Short List Finalist, Los Angeles Metro Station Project, Los Angeles
California
2004 Short List Finalist, Oakland Airport Project, Oakland, California
1998 Crocker Museum of Art, "Crocker-Kingsley Biennial," monetary
award, Sacramento, California
1994 Silver Award in Mixed Media, Art of California magazine, Napa, California
1992 Honorable Mention, National Juried Exhibition, Matrix Gallery, Sacramento,
California
1991 Gold and Bronze Awards in Sculpture, Art of California Magazine,
Napa, California
Monetary Award, Art & The Woman Artist, Clary-Miner Gallery, Buffalo,
New York (Awarded by Barbara Haskell, Curator, Whitney Museum of American
Art, New York, New York)
1983 Grant Award for Outstanding Professor, Office of Professional Development,
California State University, Chico, California
1982 Grant Award, Office of Professional Development, California State
University, Chico, California
TELEVISED INTERVIEWS:
1996 Channel 10, Santa Rosa, California
1991 Channel 6 Cable, Palo Alto, California
1986 Channel 6 Cable, Walnut Creek, California
TEACHING:
1987-present Ceramics Instructor, Laney College, Oakland, California
1984-1991 Ceramics Instructor, Walnut Creek Civic Arts Center, Walnut
Creek, California
1986 Drawing Instructor, Chabot College, Hayward, California
1985-1988 Ceramics Instructor, ASUC Studio, University of California,
Berkeley, California
1981-1984 Assistant Professor, Ceramics, California State University,
Chico, California
1980-1981 Visiting Assistant Professor, San Diego State University, San
Diego, California
1979 Summer Visiting Instructor, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
1979 Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, Ceramics Instructor, Glass
technician