Contributed by Sharon Butler / If you follow me on Instagram, you probably noticed that the new paintings have been stacking up in the studio (which, BTW, is not far from the famous rent-controlled apartment of our talented new mayor-elect, Zohran Mamdani). I finally brought the photographer in to take some decent pictures of the new work, so both my website and my profile page at American Abstract Artists have been updated. If you want to see some of it in person, please stop by on November 12, 5–7 pm, when I’ll be hosting the final 2025 Two Coats of Paint Open Studio. The resident artist will be Joseph Smolinski, who is bringing work from his recent solo show at Seton Gallery at the University of New Haven. Check out the set of essays I wrote this year for the resident artists here.
For the past month or so, in addition to the regular work in the studio, I’ve been thinking about maps. First, Tommy White at Springs Projects prevailed on me (and more than a hundred other artists) to take a subway map and use it to make art. Naturally, rather than doing something wildly outside my wheelhouse, I painted it. I envisioned a poorly painted and repainted wall…
To read this piece in full, go to Sharon Butler Notebooks on Substack.
