Tangled Tips (Lines from Zion), 1999 ink on paper Arkansas Arts Center Foundation Purchase, 1999. 99.050.001
Sharon Louden
American, born 1964
Born in Philadelphia, Sharon Louden currently lives in New York. She attended the Atlanta College of Art, received a B.F.A. from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and then an M.F.A. from Yale University. Sharon's work seems a perfect fit within the collection of the Arkansas Arts Center. Like the institution, Sharon Louden places a premium on draftsmanship. And her drawings are considered finished works of art, unlike part of the earlier tradition in art, when they were often preparatory for a larger, finished work.
Like many artists influenced by the traditional Asian manner of painting, the areas that are left blank allow the forms that are drawn to emerge prominently. This showcasing of form and line is made stronger by contrasting the white line with the pristine midnight-blue paper. While Tangled Tips (Lines from Zion) remains abstract, the artist admits that the forms were inspired by a trip to the Western United States. In this light, one is reminded of shooting stars or comets that appear most dramatic against a dark expansive sky.
  
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