artist statement by sharon healy <-speyeral->

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My work primarily aims to contain universal messages, yet applicable on an individual basis.  My goal is to have a viewer comfortably on edge, and riding the line between grasping the concept as much as they are bewildered.  To have a sense of attachment to the space they share with the idea and the piece.   I use tools such as tactile textures, and visual tension to evoke a visceral reaction in the viewer.  Anatomy and figurative images allow me to connect with the widest variety of viewers.  Most of my work has an emotional quality to it because emotions are a human’s response to its environment.  In particular, I am drawn to the expressive quality of faces and hands.  I like the power and presence that large paintings have, and I use both oils and acrylics.  This allows me to have very loose gestural painted areas juxtaposed with very tightly rendered areas, demonstrating the versatility of the media, as well as reflecting the way that humans perceive with their own eyes.  Non traditional media are incorporated: thread, metal, paper, fabric and various other objects. As well, I use the canvas as a fabric, sewing into the surface.  These low-relief sculptures provide a tactile invasion of the space between the viewer and the piece, allowing one to bridge the experience between  2-D and 3-D.