NYAB Event - Sherry Karver "Flash Fiction"

Sherry Karver "Flash Fiction"

Kim Foster Gallery

This event has ended.

“… might take a year off to travel, but has no idea where to go, & has never been away from home…”

This is one of many fabricated comments that Sherry Karver superimposes over select subjects in an effort to take the anonymity out of strangers in a crowd. In her art, Karver suggests that life is passing us by as we text, talk, and surf the net on our handheld devices, when in fact we should be taking the time to stop, look, listen, and most importantly, imagine. Through her seductive works, Karver makes us more perceptive of our surroundings with all its drama and humor.

She begins by taking black and white photographs in a variety of public places, most notably Grand Central Station. The text is then added digitally. Lastly, Karver adds color with the application of numerous oil glazes and coats the final surface with a UV resin whose reflective surface sometimes adds the viewer’s own likeness as part of the work.

The use of digital techniques to add text and soften detail combined with the age-old technique of painting with successive oil glazes creates a shimmering and captivating mood - a seductiveness evocative of good cinema – where the actors and director take the time to make us believe.

The end result is that Karver breathes life into the nameless, the passersby whom we will never get to know or meet. They could be sinners, saviors, saucy, or sensitive, and Karver gives the viewer a front row seat to their lives.

This is Karver’s third solo exhibition at Kim Foster Gallery. Her work has been widely exhibited nationally and is included in over 150 private and corporate collections. She has been featured on the cover of over a dozen books and magazines.

[Image: Sherry Karver "First Impressions" (2011). Photo based oil painting with text]