Art Talk
Beauty and The Brain
Edward Goldman talks about Katherine Sherwood, who, in spite of her brain hemorrhage, thrives as an artist.
By Edward Goldman • • 3m ListenI wonder if you, like me, sometimes stroll through museums’ vast collections, and – all of a sudden – one of the artworks stops you in your tracks for a whole set of reasons. There is more life and energy in the image. And, whether the artwork is 100 or 200 years old, there is a sensation that time disappears, and the artist communicates with you here and now, in real time and a real place.
Installation Shot of Katherine Sherwood’s The Interior of the Yelling Clinic, Walter Maciel Gallery. (Dana Davis / Walter Maciel Gallery)
exhibition of paintings by Katherine Sherwood at Walter Maciel Gallery in Culver City. So, there I was, surrounded by glorious, nude images of reclining Venus, Odalisque, and Olympia.
Katherine Sherwood, “Blind Venus (for G),” 2018. (Dana Davis / Walter Maciel Gallery)
Left: Installation shot of Katherine Sherwood, “Maya,” 2014. Walter Maciel Gallery. (Dana Davis / Walter Maciel Gallery). Right: The artist Katherine Sherwood. Courtesy of Walter Maciel Gallery.
Stop, for a second. Stare at them. You will see that their faces have been replaced with… brain scans. Yes, these are the brain scans of the artist herself. What you learn is that Sherwood, about 20 years ago, suffered a brain hemorrhage that made her unable to use her right side. And still, miraculously, she learned to use her left arm, and never stopped making art.
Katherine Sherwood, “Olympia,” 2014. (Dana Davis / Walter Maciel Gallery)
Katherine Sherwood, Back of “Peonies After Manet,” 2017. (Dana Davis / Walter Maciel Gallery)
Katherine Sherwood, “Oleanders,” 2018. (Dana Davis / Walter Maciel Gallery)
Left: The artist Katherine Sherwood and Walter Maciel. Courtesy of Walter Maciel Gallery. Right: Installation shot of Katherine Sherwood, “Flowers and Fruit,” 2014. Walter Maciel Gallery. (Dana Davis / Walter Maciel Gallery)
