Eastern Professor Displays Art in New York

Written by Tim Talley

Willimantic, Conn. -   Sharon Butler, associate professor of visual arts at Eastern Connecticut State University, is being featured in an art exhibition titled, "On Display," which opens on Aug. 6 and runs through Aug. 26 at STOREFRONT in Brooklyn, NY. The opening reception is from 6-9 p.m.

            The exhibition is a three-person exhibit which features new perspectives on abstraction along with the similarities of key elements of visual arts portrayed by the artists. "ArtCat, The Opinionated Guide to New York Art," has selected the exhibition as a 'Top Pick' for the week.

          "Having my work included in an exhibition in the heart of the international art world is an honor for me, but more importantly, it speaks to the excellence of the entire Visual Arts Department," said Butler. "As part of Eastern's upcoming Year of the Arts, I'm looking forward to bringing the exhibition's curator and artists to campus to discuss their work and share their thoughts about maintaining a professional art practice with our students."

            Butler has received sever­al grants, residencies and awards, in­cluding a Pollock-Krasner Foundation grant, two Pocket Utopia artist resi­dencies, Connecticut Commission on Culture artist fellowship, Blue Moun­tain Center Artists' fellowship, and two Connecticut State University research grants. In addition, her work is includ­ed in private collections all over the world. She maintains an award-winning art blog, "Two Coats of Paint," blogs for The Huffington Post and is a contributing writer at The Brooklyn Rail.

            "For me painting is like dreaming," Butler says. "It's as if the paintings emerge from the subconscious and reveal something to me about myself, but I often don't realize what it is until years later ... there is a sense in the paintings of emotional and intel­lectual structures deconstructing. In that regard, my paintings allude to difficult, unrealized conversations."

            For more information about the art exhibition, please contact Sharon Butler at (860) 465-4345 or email her at butlers@easternct.edu.