Home Studio | Sharon Horvath
“Working with microscopic and macroscopic visions, Horvath suggests that she can trust her paintbrush and other tools of intuition to reveal what’s out there beyond perception, beyond understanding, similar to what Ralph Waldo Emerson spoke of as the ‘transparent eyeball,’ with its ability to take it all in, and allow the individual to become one with nature.” (—Jeremy Sigler, Brooklyn Rail)
Right:
“Untitled”
2021
Pigment, polymer on paper on canvas
24 x 34 inches
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Right:
“Nerves”
2020
Mixed media on paper
27.5 x 41 inches
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“In the world of the small, too microscopic for us to see, the tiniest forms of life are breathing minerals. On the other hand, the cosmic scale up ‘above’ is too enormous for us to perceive fully. As humans we are stuck in the middle ground, picturing these two extremes. I’d like viewers of my paintings to come away with thoughts about our size amidst the buzz of particles and stars.” (Barry Schwabsky quoting Sharon Horvath.)
Above Left: “Rainbow Body,” 2021, Pigment on paper on canvas, 25 x 9 inches
Above Center: “Emerald Necklace,” 2021, Pigment on paper on canvas, 25 x 9 inches
Above Right: “Puppet,” 2021, Pigment on paper on canvas, 25 x 9 inches
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Horvath’s recent paintings reveal her exuberant, uncanny mind/landscapes that simultaneously suggest realities and invented worlds. Her canvas and paper surfaces act as metaphor for portals into both microcosm and macrocosm: a universe that considers our place in the environment. Her paintings and sculptures act as artifacts of accumulated environments. She uses cut glassware, found objects, and other studio implements as molds for leftover paint. The paint dries and is imprinted with the texture of the mold, is peeled away and becomes a separate thing made only of paint. These casts of pigment and polymer may find their way onto paintings. Recent and early drawings, photographs, and newspaper clippings from the artist’s childhood among a family of artists comprise the “ecosystem” of her studio. Horvath notes that she would not go out and buy these objects. If she uses beads it is because they are from her mother’s jewelry box. Deployed newspaper clippings and photos come from her deceased father’s collection from Life Magazine, which he used as reference material in his work as an illustrator. Each item is imbued with meaning personal to Horvath.
Right:
Studio View
Right:
Studio View
Photo: Leslie Roberts
Left:
“Butter”
2021
Pigment, polymer, plastic on paper on canvas.
34 x 24 inches
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Right:
“Light the Light”
2019
Pigment, polymer,
plastic on Wasily paper
23.375 x 30.5 inches
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“I paint to fix a moment in time. We live and change, while a finished painting appears to remain the same—for the time being.” (Sharon Horvath)
Sharon Horvath grew up in Cleveland, Ohio and moved to NYC when she was seventeen years old. There she received her BFA from Cooper Union, then an MFA from the Tyler School of Art, Temple University in Philadelphia and Rome. She later attended Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. Horvath’s awards include a Fulbright Research Fellowship to India, a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Rome Prize, an Anonymous was a Woman Award, an American Academy of Arts and Letters Award for Painting, two Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grants, and a Prize for Painting from the National Academy Museum. Horvath is an Academician of the National Academy Museum and Professor of Art in Painting and Drawing at Purchase College, SUNY. Her work is included in the collections of the Arkansas Art Center (AR), the Cleveland Museum of Art (OH), the Frost Art Museum (FL), the National Academy of Design Museum (NY), and the Utah Museum of Fine Arts (UT). She currently lives and works in Queens, Brooklyn, and Andes, NY.