Spring 2012
SEASON IS PROUD TO PRESENT SQUEEZE HARD (HOLD THAT THOUGHT) FEATURING PAINTINGS BY SHARON BUTLER AND EMBROIDERIES BY ALLISON MANCH.
Sharon Butler’s paintings revolve around the idea of lessness. For her, the challenge has become to produce ambitious works on a small scale. Looking to a previous generation of artist that flourished with a career of large- and ultra-large scale work—Smithson, Steir, DiSuvero—Sharon positions her paintings into a situation where there is no luxury of thinking grand. The magnanimity of her work comes from the acknowledgment of her liberated ego. In 2010, she received a Mindshare Award for Excellence in Visual Arts Blogs for her popular blog Two Coats of Paint. Her work has been show at Edward Winkleman Gallery, NYC; Pocket Utopia, Brooklyn; and STOREFRONT, Brooklyn. Sharon Butler lives and works in New York City; she received her BA from Tufts University, a BFA from Massachusetts College of Art and her MFA from the University of Connecticut. This is her first west coast show and SEASON is honored to bring her paintings to Seattle.
Sharon Butler, Moondog, 2012, pigment, binder and graphite on raw canvas, overall dimensions 72 x 84 inches.
Allison Manch also creates within the arena of less. Her delicately embroidered drawings contradict her harsh and often desolate settings. Her American West is filled with survivalists, loners and introverts portrayed as men of great ambition and great isolation. Allison treats their accessories and clothing as if these signifiers could somehow save them from their surroundings. Her characters stand resolute and proud, even when lost and misunderstood. Allison was born in Phoenix, Arizona and much of her work refers to her childhood home. She studied at the University of Hawaii and received her BFA from Arizona State University. In 2004 she received her MFA from the University of Washington, Seattle; where she currently lives. SEASON is honored to present this new body of work.
Allison Manch, Cave Creek, 2011, hand embroidery and acrylic on cotton with ink and natural dyes, 29 x 24.5 inches.