A painting is a search for equilibrium. I want to balance representation and abstraction, simplicity and complexity, geometric and organic forms, order and chaos. A painting should hold together from a distance, but reveal hidden worlds upon close inspection.
My initial objective is to capture the beauty of an individual moment. I am not attempting to make a copy of a scene, but to capture the essence of an experience. I might be moved to paint by light and shadow, plants in the landscape, or by the countless colors in a piece of fruit. Whatever my source of inspiration, ultimately, the painting becomes as much about the process of painting itself as about the initial visual spark. The physical nature of the paint and the surface of the painting are as important as the subject being depicted.
I leave a record of the development of a painting, each piece evolves as I work. Most of my painting is done with a knife, both to add and to take away paint. Using a knife creates a distinctive texture. I move toward disorder, then back towards unity. Marks are painted over, either completely or imperfectly. Paint is added and scraped back. Evidence of the progression of the painting chronicles my exploration and search for balance over time.
Artist Biography
Melissa Husted-Sherman has a BA in psychology and an MC in counseling from the University of Delaware. After working in crisis counseling, she left the field intending to pursue a degree in landscape architecture. A landscape design course reignited her love of drawing and painting, leading to another change in direction - using painting to capture her experience of the landscape into color and line. Since then, she has had solo and group exhibitions throughout the region. In 2000 she won a Leeway Foundation Seedling Grant for Emerging Artists in Painting. Her work has moved away from pure representation of the landscape to a more abstract expression of ideas involving the impact of the passage of time and the impermanence of beauty. Inspiration for her work comes from such diverse sources as Renaissance painting, decaying buildings, maps, architectural diagrams, erosion, evolving landscapes and scenes of everyday life.
Education
1984 University of Delaware, Newark, DE MC in Counseling
1980 University of Delaware, Newark, DE BA in Psychology
Awards and Honors
2019 Wayne Art Center Student Works, Wayne Art Center, Wayne, PA Best in Show
2016 Spring Gala, Main Line Art Center, Haverford, PA Honorable Mention
2012 Fall Juried Members Exhibition, Wayne Art Center, Wayne, PA Honorable Mention
2003 Annual Juried Exhibition, Delaware County Community College, Media, PA Purchase Prize
2000 Leeway Foundation Seedling Grant for Emerging Artists, Painting
Annual Members Show, Community Arts Center, Wallingford PA Honorable Mention, Advanced Still Life
Exhibitions
Solo
2020 Explorations in Light and Color, Gallery on Park, Swarthmore, PA
2018 Geometries, InLiquid at Courtyard by Marriott, Navy Yard, Philadelphia, PA
2015 Abington Art Center, Abington, PA
2006 New Work, posh home and design, Media, PA
Two person
2019 New Work: Melissa Husted-Sherman and Polly Dressler Bech, Swarthmore, PA
2009 Recent Work: Melissa Husted-Sherman and Polly Dressler Bech, Swarthmore Borough Hall Gallery, Swarthmore, PA
Three person
2001 Vernal Equinox, Cosmopolitan Club, Philadelphia, PA
Group
2020 Banished for the Good of the Realm, InLiquid OnLine
Everyday Magic, Exhibit B Gallery, Souderton, PA
2019 Jon Redmond and his Students, Wayne Art Center, Wayne, PA
West Chester Autumn Gallery Walk, West Chester, PA
Wayne Art Center Student Works, Wayne PA
Professional Artists Members Exhibition, Main Line Art Center,Haverford, PA
Members Show, Center for Emerging Visual Artists , Philadelphia, PA
2017 Members’ Show, Center for Emerging Visual Artists, Philadelphia, PA
2016 Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series 2016, Painted Bride Art Center, Philadelphia, PA
Art of the State, The State Museum of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, PA
Penn Charter Triennial Art Show, Philadelphia, PA
Spring Gala, Main Line Art Center, Haverford, PA
Professional Artist Members Exhibition, Main Line Art Center, Haverford, PA
2014 Navigation Puzzle, Delaware Center for Contemporary Art, Wilmington, DE
Jewels and Treasures, Main Line Art Center, Haverford, PA
71st Annual Painting Show, Cheltenham Center for the Arts, Cheltenham, PA
2013 Professional Artist Members Exhibition, Main Line Art Center, Haverford, PA
Annual Juried Show, Abington Art Center, Jenkintown, PA
2012 Annual Members Show, Main Line Art Center, Haverford, PA
Annual Juried Show, Abington Art Center, Jenkintown, PA
Works on Paper, Perkins Center for the Arts, Moorestown, NJ
Fall Juried Members Exhibition, Wayne Art Center, Wayne, PA Honorable Mention
Continuing Education Annual Juried Student Exhibition, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Spring, Community Art Center, Wallingford, PA
Annual Members Exhibition, Main Line Art Center, Haverford, PA
2008 Annual Members Show, Main Line Art Center, Haverford, PA
2007 National Spring Open, Wayne Art Center, Wayne, PA
Images 2007, Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, State College, PA
Still, Community Arts Center, Wallingford, PA
2006 66th Annual Juried Exhibition, Woodmere Art Museum, Philadelphia, PA
Landscape Revisited: Betsy Meyer Memorial Exhibition, Main Line Art Center, Haverford, PA
2005 Annual Members Exhibition, Main Line Art Center, Haverford, PA
Annual Open Juried Exhibition, Delaware County Community College, Wilmington, DE
2004 Works on Paper, Perkins Center for the Arts, Moorestown, NJ
Art of the State: Pennsylvania 2004, State Museum of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, PA
National Spring Open Juried Exhibition, Wayne Art Center, Wayne, PA
2003 66th Annual Member’s Exhibition, Main Line Art Center, Haverford, PA
Fall Members Juried Exhibition, Wayne Art Center, Wayne, PA
22nd Annual Evening of Art, Hardcastle Gallery, Wilmington, DE
Annual Juried Exhibition, Delaware County Community College, Media, PA Purchase Prize
12th Annual Art Exhibition and Sale, Main Line Art Center, Haverford, PA
75th Annual Juried Exhibition, Art Association of Harrisburg, Harrisburg, PA
In Depth, Main Line Art Center, Haverford, PA
2000 The Painter’s Eye: Exhibition by Emerging Artist Recipients, Nexus/Foundation for Today's Art, Philadelphia, PA
72nd Annual Juried Exhibition, Art Association of Harrisburg, Harrisburg, PA
Annual Members Show, Community Art Center, Wallingford, PA Honorable Mention, Advanced Still Life
