BIOGRAPHY/ARTIST STATEMENT

Sharon Coffin lives and works in Connecticut. She earned her B.F.A. and M.F.A. in Theatre from the University of California, Irvine, and a Masters in Education/Media from Harvard University.

Coffin's works have appeared in national exhibitions including the Pen & Brush Gallery, NY; WomanMade Gallery, Chicago, IL; Lyman Allyn Museum, New London, CT; Tailer Galeria Fort, Barcelona; International Art Center, Kyoto; University of Connecticut, Stamford, CT; Walsh Gallery, Fairfield University, CT; John Slade Ely House, New Haven, CT; Connecticut Graphic Arts Center, Norwalk, CT; Printmaking Council of New Jersey, Somerville, NJ; Silvermine Art Gallery, New Canaan, CT; Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Ana, CA; and the San Bernardino Art Museum, CA. Permanent collections include John Slade Ely House, New Haven, CT; Harlow, Adams & Friedman, P.C., of Milford, CT, Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, CA, and the Norfolk Children's Book Center in the UK.

As a printmaker, painter and mixed media artist, I work with materials from my life, discarded, discovered or imagined which evoke message and meaning to me. I am drawn to the theatricality of life, impulses that push one over the edge, the occurrence and consequence of everyday life, and the interaction between beings, symbols, objects, time and space. My pieces depict a fragmented world whose drama suggests imbalance, discordance and fantasy. This ongoing theme remains present in my current work. I will often describe an underlying tension or memory through stacked and layered imagery, using found objects, old letters, or salvaged paint scrapings. These may be embedded within encaustic, or paint, then abraded, cut, or otherwise interrupted, exposing the layers beneath the surface where illusion and truth come face to face.