Fragrance of Memory, 2022
Sheila Grabarsky

Artist Statement:

I paint because I bleed Alizarin Crimson.

As a small child - third year, to be exact - I painted a watercolor sun in a sky and created a color! I was amazed at how easily I could generate a new color that didn't exist before. I am still amazed by this ever-new discovery of color creation and juxtaposition. Because I'm a colorist, I have a great need to show the world what color can do.

My work is also about introspection - spiritual, psychological, introspection. If only to look inside, look at my work. It would be good for the spectator to be still and to accept his personal freedom of interpretation.

My process is one of "reduction"; paint until the canvas is full of movement and connection (as I see the confusion of the world) then erase this global chaos - removing extraneous marks - until the artwork and finding becomes a composition complete and orderly. How I wish the world were; composed, organized. I'm excited about the evolution of shapes and discovering how movement impacts each of these shapes to become cohesive.

Channeling the “process" rather than focusing on the “product" rips apart the visceral truth(s). Fine finishes and adjustments soften the blow. For me, there's a lot of listening to authentic intuitiveness with abstraction (and, that still requires music.)

Education:

Syracuse University, Crouse College of Art, Syracuse, NY
"An Alternative Art School Year" - online course with Eric Maisel, PhD
(creativity coach and author of over 30 books)
Newark School of Fine and Industrial Arts, Newark, NJ
Riker Hill Art Park, Livingston, New Jersey
Union County Vocational School, Scotch Plains, NJ (graphic design)
Studied with Philip Sherrod/Street Painters Grp (1978-1990), Art Students League Instructor, NYC, NY

Awards & Honors:

Included in New Jersey Masters: A New Legacy of Visual Art, Tova Navarra, publ: 2020
Williams-Sonoma Home Online Catalog, Fall 2019
Seven paintings in the film American Pastoral, June 2018
First Prize, Acrylic, Society of Bluffton Artists, 2/20
Manhattan Arts Int'l Power of Resilience, Excellence Award, 9/120
Manhattan Arts Int'l., HerStory, Achievement Award, 6/18?
Int'l Society of Acrylics Painters, Juried Signature/MastersCheap Joes' Art Award, 6/18
The Woven Tale Press Art Magazine, Edition: Fall, 2019
Special Recognition, lightspacetime Int'l. Online Gallery, "All Women", 1/18
Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award, Marquis Who's Who in America, 2017
Best in Exhibit Overall, Trenton Museum Society Ellarslie Open 33, 5/16
Special Recognition, Upstream People Gallery, COLOR: Bold/Subtle, 6/16
Special Merit Award Light, Space & Time Online Gallery, "Abstract Arts", 3/16
Fourth place, ISAP Intl. 7th Online Open Jury, 2016
Best in Show, Park Avenue Club, "The Blues" Statewide Juried, Florham Park, NJ, 2008
First Place, Park Avenue Arts Club, State-Wide Juried Florham Park, NJ, 2006
Artquenchgallery.com Special Recognition Award 2014 Juried International
"Affair of the Heart", 2/14
Upstreamgallery.com Special Recognition Award "6th Annual Color:Bold/Subtle Int'l Juried, 2012
Honorable Mention Tuckerton Seaport Art Show, Tuckerton, NJ, 2009
Daler-Rowney Award Int'l Society of Acrylic Painters, 2008
2nd Place Acry/Oils Ocean County Artists' Guild State-Wide Juried, Island Hts, NJ 2005
2004 Manhattan Arts Int'l.-HerStory Award of Excellence, New York, NY/online
Merion Award for Use of Acrylics, 3rd Street National Juried Gallery, Philadelphia, PA 2002
Townsend Prize, Art Alliance State-wide Juried Red Bank, NJ
Best Art ($100.) Tulane U Anne Professional. Nat'l Juried Literary Review Vol. XII / Number I New Orleans, LA 2000
Best in Show - Northern California Arts, Inc. International Juried Show "Bold Expressions" 1999
Judge's Choice Award Ocean County Artists Guild 11th State Juried, Island Heights, NJ1998
Certificate of Excellence - Montserrat Gallery NY-Soho International Art competition New York City, NY 1992
Best in show $250. - Hudson Artists, Inc. 36th Regional Exhibition Bayonne, NJ 1989
First Prize Hudson Artists, Inc. 36th Regional Exhibition Bayonne, NJ 1988
Honorable Mention Barron Arts Center, Woodbridge, NJ 1988
Honorable Mention - Bergen Museum, 3rd Paramus Juried Open Art Exhibition, NJ 1985

Exhibitions:

Selected individual EXHIBITIONS
Idiosyncrasies Gallery, Pt. Pleasant, NJ August 2012
Park Avenue Club, Florham Park, NJ April 19-Sept. 13, 2010
Jerseyarts.com Artist of the Month (Online), September 2008
Ocean County Artists Guild, Island Heights, NJ October 2007
Atlantic City Center for the Arts, "Synapses", Atlantic City, NJ July 2007
Johnson & Johnson World Headquarters. New Brunswick, NJ, 2002
Artspirit Intl Gallery, Marlborough, MA 1997
Monmouth University Gallery 800, "Solus", W. Long Branch, NJ 1994
Oakeside-Bloomfield Cultural Center Bloomfield, New Jersey 1989

Collective Exhibitions:
2020: Society of Bluffton Artists (SOBA), It's Hip to be Square, Blufft5on, SC, 1/20
2019:

Herstory 2019, Manhattan Arts Online Juried (6-9/18)

107th National Edition. Assoc. Exhibition of Associate Members of Women Artists, online

11th Annual National Competition, Prince Street Gallery, NYC, (January)
10th Annual Abstraction, Light Space Time Online gallery (March)

2018:

Immersion in Abstraction, Ellington-White Gallery, Fayetteville, North Carolina 8/18
Intl. Society of Acrylic Painters, Signature Masters Juried (7-10/18) isap-online.com
Herstory 2018, Manhattan Arts Online Juried (6-9/18)
All Women Online Exhibition (Special Recognition), lightspacetime.art?State of the Art 2018, Studio Montclair (2/18)
Making As Thinking, Studio Montclair Invitational (2-3/18)

2017:

Intl. Society of Acrylic Painters, 2nd Intl Members of the online jury (10/17) isap-online.com?G Gallery25N, "Flowers, Plants & Gardens at (6/17)
Herstory 2017, Manhattan Arts Online Juried (4/17)
30th September Competition Juried, Alexandria Museum, Alexandria, LA (6/2-9/22/17)?JAM Gallery, Malvern., PA (5/17-7/17)
Women's History Month Exhibit, City Hall, Jersey City NJ (3/17)
Studio Montclair Viewpoints 2017, Aljira, Newark, NJ (6/17)
Belmar Arts, 13th Jury, Belmar, NJ (3/17)
"Compulsion", Sweetwater Center for the Arts, Sewickley, Pennsylvania (1/17)

2016:

?Stanek Gallery, Select Artists of Southern NJ, Phila., PA (9/16-12/16)?Intl Society of Acrylic Painters, 7th Intl. Online Open (4th prize) (4/16) isap-online.com
Ellarslie Open 33, Trenton Museum Society, Trenton, NJ (3/-5/16)
Belmar Arts, 12th Annual Statewide Juried, Belmar, NJ (3/-5/16)
Light, Space & Time Online Gallery, Abstract Arts, March 2016, Special Merit Award
Monmouth County Arts Council 37th St Jur, Monmouth Museum, Brookdale Coll., Lincroft, NJ (2/16)

2015 :

Intl. Society of Acrylic Painters, FL - 10th Annual Competition, St. Petersburg, FL 33701. (10/6-10/29)
8th Annual Online ISAP Signature Membership (11/15)
The Haggus Society, "Edges & Curves", Los Angeles, CA (07/01-09/30/15)
Noyes Museum Iconic Artists Exhibition, Oceanville, NJ (9/15-11/15)
Torch' Gallery, Summer Exhibition, Belmar, NJ (6-9/15)
Wheelhouse Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico (2/7- 3/4/15)
Les Femmes Fatales: TALES, Monongalia Art Center, 107 High Street, Morgantown, WV (5/8-30/15)
Torch' Gallery, 2nd Anniversary Exhibit, Belmar, NJ (4-5/15)
6th Annual ISAP International Online Show 2015 (4/15)

2014 :

Woman Made Gallery, Oil & Water, Chicago, IL (11-12/14)
Noyes Museum Iconic Artists Exhibition, Oceanville, NJ (10/14 - 11/14)
Celebrate the Healing Power of Art 2014 International Juried Online Exhibition, Manhattan Arts International (5/17-7/17/14)
Musical Heritage Foundation, Asbury Park, NJ (3/29-5/30/14)
ALFA Gallery, New Brunswick, NJ Eclectic Aesthetics, Mixed Media and Oil Painting (4/1-4/30/14)
Belmar Arts Council, Belmar, NJ 10th Annual Jersey Shore Juried Exhibition (4/8-4/11/14)
Artquenchgallery.com International Juried Competition 2014, "Matters of the Heart", 2/14

2013:

Art Alliance, Red Bank, NJ 27th Annual State Juried Exhibition (11/13 - 12/13)
6th Annual International Society of Acrylic Painters Signature Member Online show
"Force of Nature", Artscenetoday.com 10/13
Upstreampeople.com "Special Recognition" Award: in 15th Ann.l Contemp. Art Juried Online Intl.
Exhibition of emblematic artists from the Noyes Museum (9/13)
3rd Street Gallery Associate Members Exhibition, OPUS MOVUM, Philadelphia, PA (4/13)
Monmouth County Arts Council 34th St Jur, Monmouth Museum, Brookdale Coll., Lincroft, NJ (2/13)

2012:

Selected for Inclusion: 365 Days of Honoring Artists - ArtfulVagabond.com
Audubon Artists 70th Annual Juried Exhibition
5th Annual Online ISAP Signature Member Show (11/12)
3rd Street Phila Gallery POST Salon (10/12)
3rd Street Phila Gallery Community exhibition (2/12)
Noyes Museum Signature Artists I, Oceanville, NJ
Exhibition of emblematic members of the International Society of Acrylic Painters, CA 9/12
Upstreamgallery.com "6th Annual Colour: Bold/Subtle Int'l Juried

2011:

ISAP Special Invitation - Signing Members Paso Robles, CA 9-10/11
Upstreamgallery.com 11th International Online Art Exhibition with All-Media Summer Jury
Brainstorm 2011 Natl.Jur. Art Show Governors State University, University Park, IL (5 21/- 6 25/11)
Cape Fear Studios, 3rd Annual National Expo, Fayetteville, NC (6/23 - 7/19/11)
International Society of Acrylic Painters, 14th Annual International Exposition, Santa Cruz, CA (7/1-31)
Farmington Museum, Farmington, NM, Gateway to Imagination National Juried (5/6-7/9/11)
Caladangallery.com, "Hidden and Exposed", (4/10 - 5/9/11)
Studio Montclair, "Viewpoints", aljira, A Ctr. for Contemporary Art, Newark, NJ (6/1 -6/25/11)

2010:

Upstreamgallery.com 12th Annual International Online Art Exhibition Juried Abstraction
Upstreamgallery.com 6th Annual Color: Bold/Subtle Int'l Juried
Fredericksburg Ctr./Creative Arts, 'FORMS IN MOTION' National Juried, Fredericksburg, VA
Ellarslie Open XXVIII State-Wide Juried, Trenton Museum
Monmouth County Arts Council 31st State Jur, Monmouth Museum, Brookdale College, Lincroft, NJ
Upstreamgallery.com "6th Annual Colour: Bold/Subtle Int'l Juried/Special Recognition Award
Daniel North Studio/Gallery, "SPACE" Cut Bank, MT

2009:

Abstract Expressions Gallery, Mt Hiolly, NJ - Two person exposure
George Segal Gallery, Montclair State University, "Art Connections 5/National"
Monmouth Arts Festival, Tinton Falls, NJ
Tuckerton Seaport, Tuckerton, NJ, "The Bay @ PLÀ"

2008:

ArtistsEmerge.org (online), "Expressions"
Monmouth County Arts Council 29th Statewide Juried, Monmouth Museum, Lincroft, NJ
Ocean County Artist Guild Annual Statewide Juried, Island Heights, NJ
International Society of Acrylic Painters, 11th Annual International Exposition, Santa Cruz, CA
Noyes Museum Signature Artists, "Beneath the Surface, Oceanville, NJ
Park Avenue Arts Club State-Wide Juried "The Blues", Florham Park, NJ

2007:

Ocean County Artists Guild Statewide Juried, Island Heights, NJ
Ocean County Artists Guild, Jury Members, Island Heights, NJ
"Elements of Art", Frame It Up, Medford, NJ
Noyes Museum Signature Artists II, Oceanville, NJ
Noyes Museum Signature Artists I, Oceanville, NJ
Noyes Museum Biennial Juried, Oceanville, NJ
"East Meets West", Frame It Up, Medford, NJ
Tuckerton Seaport Invitational - "Seasons, Cycles and Circles" Tuckerton, NJ

2006:

Park Avenue Arts Club, State-Wide Juried Florham Park, NJ
Edison Arts Society "There's a Song in My Art" Juried Statewide, Sheraton Edison Raritan Ctr NJ
Ocean County Artists Guild, 20th State Juried Exhibition, Island Heights, NJ
Tuckerton Seaport Invitational - "At the Water's Edge" Tuckerton, NJ
Artspace 129 - "Winter Living Room" Montclair, NJ

2005:

Ocean County Artists Guild Statewide Juried, Island Heights, NJ
Noyes Museum South Jersey Artists Oceanville, NJ
Montpelier Cultural Center for the Arts, Laurel, MD

2004 :

Manhattan Arts Int'l.-HerStory 2004, New York, NY/online 2003
Fredericksburg Ctr. for Creative Arts "Kaleidoscope of Color" Fredericksburg, VA 2003
Havre de Grace Arts Commission National Juried, Havre de Grace, MD

2002:

3rd Street Gallery National Juried, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Museum of Art Masur 29th Ann Intl Juried Competition, Monroe, LA
Art Alliance State-wide Juried Red Bank, NJ

2001:

Gallery 212 "Subversive Influences" Ann Arbor, Mi
Contemporary Art Gallery Period III 2001 Intl. Juried Omaha, NE
John Nichols Gallery "The Gaze of Love" National Juried Santa Paula, CA

2000:

Tulane Univ. Professional Annual Literary Review Nat'l Juried Volume XII / Issue I New Orleans, LA
Lexington Art League Loudon House "The Nude 2001" Nat'l Juried, Lexington, KY
Northern California Arts, Inc. International Juried Exhibition "Bold Expressions"

Artistic influences:

I belonged to Greenwich Village in the 1950s-1970s, that's where my heart was drawn to the group of abstract people who frequented the Cedar Bar. (Read Women of Ninth Street!)

Key words:

abstract, colourful, lyrical, intuitive, cheerful, expressionist