Interrupted

This work was completed during my Artist Residence at Chateau d' Orquevaux in France. It depicts a man, naked, suspended, as if defying gravity.

The use of earthy tones in this work reflects the autumnal hues that abounded during my stay in this rural village in Haute Marne, surrounded by forest. Every day the colours would change a little, until eventually the trees were bare and all was grey. The change was beautiful and was a visual reminder of time passing.

This work is gallery wrapped and ready to hang

I wrote a poem describing this work, which is written on the reverse of the canvas and I will share here:

The darkness of night cloaks him,
Suspends him,
Distances him

Unwavering, though,
His gaze
Searching, longing
It finds, in me, a mirror image
What is it
That ripples across his body
Muscles taut, stretched, burning
Is that fear, yellow and stuck in his throat
Is that passion,
Red and ripping through his gut

What is he to me
What scrap of paper, torn from a notebook
What half told story, without an ending
What lyrical sound, distant on the breeze

He is interrupted
He is weightless
He is here
And yet not
He is my love

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Sharon is a visual artist from Melbourne, best known for her bold use of colour and abstracted figuration. Working predominantly with acrylic paint, she also likes to experiment with oils, pastels, ink and collage. Themes explored through Sharon's work include human rights, social justice, mental illness and feminism.

Sharon says "My work is influenced by many things across the personal, the political and the aesthetic. Whilst I paint landscapes, portraits and abstract paintings, I am most particularly interested in figurative works. Body language, story telling and the diversity of human experience are all themes you will find in my work."

In 2018 she was selected for an international artist residency at Chateau d' Orquevaux in France where she worked on a series of paintings exploring female identity and its intersection with language. Many of the works from this period were exhibited in Melbourne in her "Falling Women" Exhibition. "
Sharon's paintings are held in private collections across Australia, in the UK, France , Singapore, Canada and the USA. 3 of her paintings are held in the permanent collection at Chateau d' Orquevaux.

She is the artist in residence at Liquid Amber Press, a publishing company that works at the intersection of visual arts and poetry, and is represented by Kelli Lundberg Art in Victoria and Satch and Co in NSW