Russell Sharon

untitled (wildflower)

1991

Russell Sharon was born in 1948 in Randall, Minnesota. He later studied at the Universidad de las Americas in Mexico City from 1968-1972 and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) from 1973 to 1975. ​Sharon's paintings are most often horizontal works layered in two, three or four colors. They focus on the abstraction of natural landscapes, inspired by his iconic personal terrain, Minnesota's lake country: "I live on a farm, and my work is a reflection of that", says Sharon of his life-time home, located on the same family farm in Morrison County, where he grew up. Due to the artist's blocky deconstruction of the composition, a constant fixation on the horizon is the viewer's only clue to the subject matter. "In the fine line between abstraction and representation lies the possibility of capturing the response one feels". He sometimes includes hazy figural elements in his compositions- barely indicating the outlines of a field of grasses or a clump of trees- but that's about it. He has done many portraits of people in the various places where he has lived and worked, like the series 101 Faces, one hundred paintings exhibited as a group to reflect the spirit of his community. His work also includes abstract sculptures with metal and wood. Since the mid 1980's, Sharon has had work shown and celebrated in many solo and group exhibitions in the United States, Europe, and South America. He shares his life between Minnesota and the South Beach section of Miami, where he has an apartment, as well as a studio in the South Florida.