Gallery Henoch Presents Sharon Sprung's FLESH

Gallery Henoch is delighted to present the new work of Sharon Sprung. In Flesh, her sixth solo exhibition at the gallery, Sprung continues her careful study of the female form, rendering the figure in layer upon layer of oil paint until, as Sprung puts it, "the painting's surface is as interesting as the subject."

"Flesh," Willem de Kooning once stated, "was the reason oil paint was invented." Sprung's approach to the nudes - painting them in luxuriant skin tones that articulate the subtle changes of light on the body - give the subjects a palpable presence, especially isolated against the shockingly bright hues of the background. And yet the figures have a supple, sensual quality that suggests a deeper relationship between model and artist, as well as painting and viewer. Through her close observations and sensitive rendering of the model, Sprung evokes in us the felt memory of touching someone or the sensation of simply beholding another. In her painting titledVortex, for example, the faintest of tan lines visible on the model's side conveys a personal history that inspires a sense of intimacy between figure and viewer, while the intricate pattern of the pleated skirt simultaneously abstracts her against a plush lilac background.

Sharon Sprung is Brooklyn based painter and an instructor at the Art Students' League and The National Academy of Art and Design. Sprung was born in Glen Cove, New York in 1953. She has received training from Cornell University, the National Academy of Design and the Art Students League. Her paintings are in the collections of the US House of Representatives, AT&T, Chase Manhattan Bank, Packer Collegiate Institute, Bouchever Private collection and the Tullman Collection to name a few.

The exhibition will focus on eleven new paintings and a selection of small portraits. Flesh will run September 12 - October 5, 2013 at Gallery Henoch. The opening reception is Thursday, September 12th from 6 - 8pm - FREE and open to the public.

Installation photo: SEE, HEAR, SPEAK NO EVIL, triptych, Oil on Panel.