Sherry Kerlin

My paintings and drawings are dedicated to my unending search for the narratives that lie beneath what appears to be the immutable concrete surface of reality. I have experienced that every circumstance has many layers to it. I am trying to achieve the seemingly impossible and contradictory task of painting that which cannot be seen but intuited. I have given up trying to know the one exact “truth” and discovered the pleasure of the mystery.

I paint in a diffused, soft lyrical style that is meant to mimic the transitory nature of an object or a figure. Many of the paintings are done in black and white in an attempt to bend reality to another perceptual level. Each painting is usually confined to a focus on one or two objects in order to more fully explore their unique worlds. The scale of the work is small to create a sense of intimacy. These formal elements are there to support my sense of narrative—the soul of my work.