Artist Statement
I have been making art as a serious artist for half a century. I began painting when Andy Warhol was painting portraits of Marilyn Monroe, and I have never stopped moving. I consider art a challenge of discovery, a test of skill. I studied with hard-edge painters, conceptualists and Chicago Imagists. I began making computer art in the early 90’s and am now exploring AI generated images.
As an artist I am still exploring. For those reasons an all-encompassing artist’s statement is very difficult.
But I will try.
When I was a young artist I had a dream. I was in a huge exhibition of paintings, hundreds of paintings, even thousands, hanging one after one. As I looked at them, I looked at each one closely and each was complete, and they were all done by me. That is when I realized that I would never run out of ideas for new work. But the dream also exposed something I have had to embrace knowing it would be trouble for me as an artist: that is; I have never stayed with a signature style. But my desire to learn new things and explore overweighs the rewards of doing the same work that people quickly know me by.
I was talking with a teacher in the 70’s, a famous conceptual artist, who said while looking at a large painting I was working on “You can take that painting anywhere in the city you want and show it, but there is something in your studio that you are working on that you are unsure of, that is a different direction altogether. Keep those pieces and do not dismiss them. They are your work also.”
As an artist I am still exploring. For those reasons an all-encompassing artist’s statement is very difficult.
But I will try.
These ideas have allowed me a freedom many artists lack: the freedom to move back and forth from idea to idea, allowing myself to veer off course, revisit ideas, make mistakes, experiment or just follow a path until I’m either tired of doing it or or just feel the need to do something different for a while.
Everybody who knows my work says that they recognize my work when they see it so I surmise that my spirit shows up in everything I do. This is because the most important ideas for me were stated by Wassily Kandinsky in Concerning the Spiritual in Art:
“That is beautiful which is produced by the inner need, which springs from the soul, Is beautiful what proceeds from an inner necessity of the soul. Imagination is what allows your mind to discover. All methods are sacred if they are internally necessary. All methods are sins if they are not justified by internal necessity.”
Artist Biography
Steve Sherrell is a career painter from the Chicago school of art. Steve moved to Chicago to finish his education at the Art Institute of Chicago with his wife Sally and their daughter Heather. Steve received his BFA and MFA with the support of his wife who is a Quilter. He has a thirst for learning which has always kept him current in film, music, literature, and popular culture. He thrives with new information and discovery. In 1984, Steve and Sally welcomed their son Colin. Steve has instilled this unquenchable thirst for learning in his children; Heather is an Interior Designer, and Colin is a Sculptor. He and Sally enjoy traveling and visiting museums the world over. They enjoy nature, fishing, birdwatching, and working in their yard. Steve loves to cook and brings his signature mix of both technique and experimentation to his dishes. Life is quiet in the Sherrell household; both Steve and Sally work on art. They adore their pets. The two of them support each other as one while their playful and loving natures shine through in their prospective work. Steve loves his family, friends and colleagues. He is eager to help those in need. He is passionate about doing maintenance and repairs on their houses and cars. Steve is a born tinkerer and an all around good guy.
Steve’s early influence was his father who was a painter and window dresser for a large department store. As a boy he was exposed to Abstract Expressionism, Cubism, Pop Art and American Realism. His training at the School of the Art Institute was with Ray Yoshida and Whitney Halstead, who introduced him to studio practices that he has utilized since he graduated. He is Professor Emeritus of Art at Joliet Junior College.
One very important influence for Steve was Jonathon Borofsky, who directed him to follow his curiosity and do everything he felt was right at the time; a philosophy which has guided him throughout his career. Philosophically, he has always felt that a painting or drawing must have above all things, content. Subject matter and visual elements should always lead the viewer to an internal discussion, one that can carry on through many viewings. Because his philosophy is one of exploration, experimentation and discovery, he has learned to master the many different media of two dimensional art including digital creation and the digital enhancement of old school techniques.
He has been represented by prominent Chicago galleries, and he has shown at many distinguished National and International venues. He is a career artist, a seasoned veteran of the tough Chicago art world. There is always a sense of play to anything he does, but mixed in is an attempt to get at the heart of questions that matter to us in the 21st century. He has stated that his goal as an artist is to create art based on his inner dialogue, while trying to keep it relevant within the current zeitgeist.
He is currently the Gallery Director and Curator at Water Street Studios in Batavia, Illinois and Founder of the Water Street Studios Artist’s Collective.