ARTIST STATEMENT:

 

It is the perennial mysteries – both scientific and spiritual – that interest me and motivate my art. It is the bittersweet beauty of the earth as well as our connection to the stars that capture my imagination. While based in observation of the natural world, my work is more concerned with an underlying mystery and often references personal reflections on meaning and impermanence. Perhaps it is not surprising that, years ago, I wrote down a similar sentiment from Henry Miller: “We are enveloped in a sea of forces which seem to defy our puny intelligence. Until we accept that life itself is founded in mystery we shall learn nothing.”

 

I frequently work on a series of paintings to more fully explore a particular concept or idea. Surfaces are built from layers of acrylic or oil paint and often include mixed media collage elements. Combining abstraction (both gesture and geometry) with the singular or “just this” language of realism, I strive to construct a dialogue between stillness and flow or between the moment and its change. The extravagance of nature, forever becoming and dissolving, is held in tenuous balance with a timeless simplicity.

 

 

 

BIOGRAPHY:

 

Leslye Sherman earned an MFA in 1983 and taught painting and drawing at Miami University from 1997 to 2005. Majoring in English literature as an undergraduate, she earned a living in the world of books and remains fascinated by literature and poetry as well as birding, hiking, environmental activism, and zen meditation. She divides her studio time between Oxford, Ohio and Fort Collins, Colorado.