Artist to Know: Shari Weschler - Inside Art With Michael Rose

Artist to Know: Shari Weschler - Inside Art With Michael Rose

 

Artists go through varying phases of creativity. For local painter Shari Weschler, her own art practice has sometimes taken a backseat to other responsibilities. Now creating new work, Weschler is poised for another chapter in her creative journey. In current exhibitions in Providence and Westerly, viewers can see Weschler’s artworks, which are painterly, meditative, and surreal.

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Originally from Larchmont, New York, Weschler trained at the renowned Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. She majored in painting but also studied photography, printmaking, and art history. After spending sixteen years in Baltimore, Weschler relocated to Rhode Island in the early 2000’s and has been active here ever since. A productive artist, she has exhibited her work throughout the Northeast and beyond. She was also the co-owner and director of Newport’s former Coastal Contemporary Gallery from 2018 to 2022, where she produced numerous engaging exhibitions focused on other artists.

 

 

After Weschler closed the gallery, sold her home, and went through other personal transitions, she relocated to Providence and gave up her own studio space for a time. Recently, she was invited to share the studio of sculptor Elizabeth Lind. Now able to paint in a bright space at Shady Lea Mill in North Kingstown, Weschler is re-energized to make art. Each day she creates a drawing entry in journals she fastidiously keeps, and occasionally images from these pages show up in her acrylic paintings.

 

Speaking of her studio mate Lind, Weschler says, “She is a wonderful friend and incredible artist. She sent me a message earlier in 2021 to ask if I would be interested in sharing her space at Shady Lee Mills Studio in North Kingstown. She welcomed me into her ‘cocoon’ and has given me the most perfect, gentle nudges to keep me focused on my creativity outside of a very busy executive position. I get to escape from my home-office, into a sweet space filled with good energy, flowers, bumble bees, trees and two really cool, giant blue doors with a mermaid knocker.”

 

 

There are two current opportunities to experience Weschler’s singular artistic point of view. Her artworks are the focus of a solo show at BankRI Gallery at One Turks Head Place in Providence through September 6, 2023. The show, which is open Monday through Thursday from 9 am - 4 pm and Fridays from 9 am - 5 pm, features a selection of Weschler’s brushy and immersive paintings. Weschler makes art using the moniker Sumo Bunni, and the rabbit motif appears in much of her work.

 

In addition to her show at BankRI Gallery in downtown Providence, audiences can also enjoy samples of Weschler’s work on view in the south of the state at Westerly’s AiR Studio Gallery. Weschler and AiR’s owners have enjoyed a collaborative relationship, and in addition to exhibiting Weschler has also provided installation advice and support as needed. Weschler is included in AiR’s Summer Crush group exhibition, which is on view through September 10, 2023. Hours at AiR are Thursdays through Sundays from 1-6pm and the gallery can be found at 19-B Railroad Avenue, across from the town’s Amtrak Station.

 

 

Asked about her collaboration with AiR, Weschler says, “They made me feel most welcome for an artist talk earlier in June 2023, where I was also able to share my daily 365 drawing journals in person. At AiR, the public is finding a series of new larger-scale works and a fun game-like, small-scale series titled the ‘String Bunni ‘. My goal is to share the inner child and spirit while inspiring people to be comfortable and allowing themselves to be free of personal constraints.”

 

As an artist, much of Weschler’s work draws on themes that are autobiographical, introspective, and even dreamlike. Technically, they are often multifaceted, involving underdrawings that are layered over and sometimes paintings that are wholly repurposed to achieve the desired effect. The language of her work is deeply personal.

 

 

Looking forward, Weschler plans to continue improving her practice. Asked what is next for her, she says, “I plan to continue my more liberal, loose, freer style of painting that the pandemic lockdown opened up in me. I aim to return to building back a body of the more meticulously calculated, figurative ‘Circus Freak’ and ‘Ego’ series; as they have proven to be my most collected works. I am also working on a project titled ‘Being Me’ – a selection of poetry, story-telling and self-portraiture photography, while also searching for ways to publish my daily drawings into one cohesive piece.”

 

Weschler has contributed much to the local art community. As she refocuses on making and exhibiting her own paintings, she deserves the support of her fellow Rhode Islanders. With two local exhibitions up now, there is ample opportunity to experience her artistic vision.

 

Learn more about Weschler’s work at her website www.artinmind.org