Rachel Sharp

American artist Rachel Sharp has lived in the UK since 2002. She received a painting scholarship to attend the New York Studio School for Drawing, Painting and Sculpture (95-98) and earned a Fine Art MA from Northumbria University in 2011. Her work reflects a strong interest in the tactility and vibrancy of the painting medium while drawing inspiration from the modular, two-dimensionality of digital images. In addition to exhibiting her work globally, she has curated exhibitions for BALTIC 39 and Gallery North, both in Newcastle upon Tyne. Her work has been featured in Forbes, Brooklyn Magazine, The Guardian and many other publications. She has studios in Northumberland and her home state of Indiana.

I would like to thank my spiritual teacher and Guru, Rohini Ralby, for generously providing stilling meditation classes, open to all, throughout this challenging time. Attending these sessions four days a week by Webex has been a big part of my life before, during and after the lockdown period. Rohini showed me how the crisis presented an opportunity for inward focus and much spiritual growth, although very challenging at times.

The works which are part of the Northern Lights exhibition were completed during the lockdown period. The sun and moon series began in 2019 following a trip to Southern California where the sun is so prominent, a change to my studio setting in Northumberland. For me, this motif represents illumination in a variety of forms, from the California sun to the digital screen (where I source reference images) to the light within. I hope that the paintings capture something of the screen time we have learned to navigate during lockdown as well as the positive connections of love and community which these challenging times have brought about.