Current Work

Elizabeth Sher: MARK MY WORKS - Oct. 21, 2022 - Nov. 26, 2022 at Mercury 20 Gallery, Oakland, CA

MARK MY WORDS began during the pandemic lockdown of 2020-2021, as I sheltered in place at the Russian River in Northern California. At a residency in New Zealand in 2008, I selected passages from a book of interviews titled Conversations with Artists and made drawings from the words of the text. Mark My Words serves as a continuation of that project; but instead of originating with a dialogue, the words in this series are the products of an inner monologue with myself. Six images include poems by Maw Shein Win

The phrases I selected would not leave my mind: like a song getting stuck in your head, they were persistent, even appearing in my dreams. To get them out of my head, I began to draw them on handmade paper using a bamboo pen. Concentrating intently on the form of each letter and spacing of each word, focusing on the shapes and interactions of the words-as-drawings,became a form of meditation. At the same time, I remained keenly aware of the content in each phrase. The shifts in meaning that emerged through the device of repetition – such “people amaze me / amaze me people”.

 The playful permutations of these words was fun. Yet in these frightening times their mantra-like repetition felt like protection against the danger and uncertainty of the pandemic. In the years following the lockdown, the phrases I selected began to address broader themes as well. I hope they will also offer viewers a shield of courage against any emergent threat and a path to peace of mind.

Contact Elizabeth liz1943@gmail.com to order a hardbound book of MARK MY WORDS

Elizabeth Sher: SURREALITY – February 12, 2021 – March 20, 2021 at Mercury 20 Gallery, Oakland, CA

My artwork over the last decade has been inspired by residencies in foreign countries: I make small scale works abroad, then bring them back to my Oakland studio, where they evolve into more finished pieces. I describe these works as “taking place” – i.e., taking inspiration from my personal responses to experiencing new and unfamiliar surroundings. Prior solo shows at Mercury 20 presented works from artist residencies in Iceland (2018) and Morocco (2019).

This year, Covid-19 made travel impossible. Starting in mid-March, I sheltered in place at a cottage on the Russian River in western Sonoma county. Everything was closed and time slowed way down. For three months I walked, cooked, did yoga and worked on art. My satellite studio became my refuge, its own unique kind of artist residency.

My art supplies included a tablet of graph paper and I became obsessed with drawing x’s and o’s in, on, over and around the field of teal squares. I thought: while love (o’s and x’s) can’t fix everything, it is still important to hold onto, especially in frightening times. I remembered the lessons of my mentor, painter Elmer Bischoff, who encouraged me to uncover the quirkiest qualities of my work, to work intuitively, and to surprise myself. Repeated mark-making became a physical mantra, calming my anxieties over the election, Covid-19, and bizarre weather patterns brought on by increasingly intense climate change. The result was the series Graphing an Uncertain Future.

Soon came the fires and resulting dense smoke, scary bright orange skies, and devastation. The air was often worse at my home in Oakland than at the Russian River; in both locations, visibility was very low. This, along with the same stories repeating endlessly all over the news, made it hard to see anything clearly in either place. The series Smoke Screens is my response to the lack of clarity on so many fronts.

I hope these works will elicit a personal response and perhaps offer a way to connect with your own life during these times.

What’s Inside These Shorts? (in the video alcove)

A 20 minute reel of mostly new short videos made during the past year. Swan Song was made during lockdown – a time for reassessment. Smiles encouraged. Stream video (free) here Password is ScreenShorts2021 (some adult language). Or use the QR code