Courtesy Gerald Peters Gallery
Lorraine Shemesh, TRELLIS
Statement
| Artwork Info | |
|---|---|
| Date | 2020 |
| Dimensions | 62.25 x 60 inches |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Artist Info | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jersey City, NJ |
| Works | New York, NY |
Reflecting on this Year
Biography
Lorraine Shemesh has developed a unique type of contemporary realism that marries figure based painting and abstract expressionist concerns, while searching to illuminate experience in a universal and transformative manner. In clearly defined, yet unidentifiable surroundings, using intertwined figures in motion, Shemesh addresses ideas of disjuncture and harmony and the politics of communication. She creates a way of seeing that pulls the viewer into a fresh view of the body. The paintings create a balance of palpable figuration and conceptual abstraction. The relationship between tension and tranquility is made visible as an expression of the human condition in lyrical form. She explores the space between things, both in formal and psychological terms, in order to provide a moment’s respite and find a place of connection.
Shemesh’s work has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions across the United States and internationally in museums including the Butler Institute of American Art, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Bronx Museum of Art, Museum of the City of New York, Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Musée de Carouge in Switzerland, National Academy of Design, Boise Art Museum, Frye Art Museum, Institute of Contemporary Art, Akron Art Museum, Nasher Museum of Art at Duke, Nassau County Museum of Art, and the DeCordova Museum among many others.
An MFA graduate of the Tyler School of Art, she has held teaching positions at The Rhode Island School of Design and Amherst College. Her work has been reviewed / reproduced in The New Yorker, Art in America, The New York Times, and Harper’s Magazine among other. Shemesh is the recipient of a Rhode Island State Council for the Arts Grant in painting, a Yaddo Fellowship, two Watershed residencies, a Distinguished Alumni Award from Boston University, and has recently served as Artist-in-Residence at Dartmouth College.
The work of Lorraine Shemesh is currently represented by Gerald Peters Gallery in New York and Santa Fe. She lives and works in New York City.
