The Bellevue Art Museum will be exhibiting Sherry Markovitz: Shimmer, Paintings and Sculptures 1979 – 2007 from May 22 - September 7, 2008. The exhibition is a mid-career retrospective and as the excitement builds for the opening of the exhibition (and possible field trip to BAM), it seems appropriate to reflect on the Sherry Markovitz piece Shine on Me, currently on view in the Contrasts: A Glass Primer exhibition.

When Contrasts: A Glass Primer opened back in November 2006, a hot topic of discussion was the paring of Markovitz’s, Shine on Me, “Poetic” piece with David Chatt’s, White Men in Suits, “Political” piece, specially pondering the poetic aspect of Markovitiz’s sculpture.

Contrasts: A Glass Primer curator Vicki Halper comments, “The self-possession in her regal bearing plays against the receptive quality of her outreached arms. Her garment is a similar complicated mixture of armor and lyric beauty. Sherry Markovitz says her creation is ‘fairytale-like, a little bit magical.’”

Share your thoughts on Markovitz’s Shine on Me:
What do you think Markovitz is conveying with this piece?
What interpretations have visitors shared?
What about her process ~ the beading?

Sherry Markovitz (American, born 1947)
Shine on Me, 2006
Beadwork and found objects on paper mache and fabric
Collection of the artist, courtesy of Greg Kucera Gallery, Seattle
Photo by Photo by Eduardo Calderón

David Chatt (American, born 1960)
White Men in Suits, 2002
Glass beadwork and U.S. currency
Collection of the artist
Photo by Harriet Burger