“Barriers” was created during the pandemic. The thick, opaque brushstrokes are meant to relay a heavy burden: heavy barriers which are impassable. The landscape-like, almost “ugly” muddied paintings were created with the feeling of claustrophobia during the time when seeing people was limited, at best.
This body of work was instrumental to the next series of works entitled, “Barriers to Entry” (2023), and was the catalyst for a curated exhibtion entitled, “Our Solo Show,” at Engage Projects, Chicago, IL (2021).
INSTALLATION VIEW:
“Our Solo Show”
Sharon Louden | Edgar Arceneaux | Hasan Elahi | Jean Shin | Melissa Potter | Alpesh Kantilal Patel
Engage Projects, Chicago, IL, October 22 - November 27, 2021
“This show will mark Sharon Louden’s first “solo” exhibition at ENGAGE Projects. Louden decided to share this opportunity to dialogue with her fellow artists: Hasan Elahi, Edgar Arceneaux, Jean Shin, Melissa Potter, Miguel Luciano, and Alpesh Kantilal Patel. Following her most recent exhibition at Signs and Symbols Gallery in New York, where she created an immersive and inclusive environment with artist and writer, Hrag Vartanian, here Louden is collaborating with her colleagues who wear multiple hats, always challenging and redefining the art world. With commitments spanning academia, foundations, nonprofit organizations, galleries, and other unique institutions, these luminaries and thought leaders will come together in a visual conversation with Sharon to create an inclusive “living room” populated with furniture where art lives naturally in an open, welcoming environment.”
“Inspired by Dayanita Singh’s exhibition at Callicoon Fine Arts in 2018 whose aim was to democratize the acts of collecting and curating by making objects affordable, this shared solo show will create a space that acts as a comfortable, joyous and welcoming community with works available at different price points, from paintings, sculptures and installations to drawings, wallpaper, stationary, and more. The intent of this exhibition is to engage artists, communities, and patrons new and experienced, striving to break down the exclusive aspects sometimes associated with commercial art galleries and museums. The goal and hope is that this shared exhibition space will begin to normalize this process of making contemporary art more readily accessible and less “mysterious” to the general public.”