Short Bio

Shari Boraz has a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago where she majored in textile design. As a fiber artist her primary media is hand embroidery, but she also dyes and embroiders fabric. Her art is presented as 2-dimensional wall art. Shari’s goal is to lure the observer to her art with color and movement. This provides a path for the viewer to dwell on the art and then to respond in whatever way lies within. A characteristic of her art is use of the French knot stitch employing complementary threads, creating a pointillist effect inspired by Georges-Pierre Seurat. The artist’s work has been exhibited throughout Europe and the United States.

Statement

Shari E. Wolf Boraz                                                                      
Having earned a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago where I majored in textile design, my goal is to attract the viewer to my art and provoke their own creative thoughts.
I begin with either white cotton textiles or printed cotton textiles that I’ve created by digitally manipulating original photographs, and then I “paint” with meticulous hand embroidery stitches in a slow, meditative pace. I use a variety of embroidery stitches and color combinations resulting in nuanced coloration, including French knots using complementary threads, thus creating a vibrating pointillist effect. 
 
I’ve been greatly influenced by: the psychedelic and pop art movements of the 1960s, including Peter Max; Josef Albers’ color theory (1888-1976); pointillism (late 1880s); and, the intricate detailing found in Flemish renaissance art (15th-17th centuries).  In addition, Gauguin, Cézanne, Matisse, Picasso, and Chagall have all impacted my aesthetics.  Influences that share my way of communicating through emotive and deeply personal symbolism include Frieda Kahlo, Kiki Smith, and Louise Bourgeois.
 
My art has been exhibited in museums and several juried and invitational exhibitions and is in museum collections.  I’m a member of the Women's Caucus for Art, the Surface Design Association, the New Hampshire Art Association, and the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen.
 
Born: Chicago, IL
Lives and Works: Hanover, NH
www.SEWBoraz.com

Resume / CV

Shari E. Wolf Boraz
Hanover, New Hampshire 03755
603/729-6290 (studio/home)
Shari.Boraz@gmail.com ~ www.SEWBoraz.com

EDUCATION
SCHOOL OF THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO, Chicago, Illinois
B.F.A. in Art Education and Textile Design

COLLECTIONS
Rubin Museum of Art
Museum of Art and Design
Numerous Individual’s Collections

HONORS and AWARDS
2019    Best in Show, Fiberlicious, Loading Dock Gallery, Lowell, MA
2017    First in Show Award, Subversive/Domestic, Shenandoah Valley Art Center, Waynesboro,
            VA
1994    First Place, Grailville Quilt and Fiber Art Show, Loveland, OH
1981    Honorable Mention, Appalachiana Recollections Wearable Vest Competition and
            Exhibit, Bethesda, MD
1973    Honorable Mention, Levi Strauss & Co. Denim Art Contest, San Francisco, CA
SOLO and SMALL GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2020    Juried Regional Exhibition Online, Library Art Center & Gallery,
            https://libraryartscenter.org/exhibits/juriedregional2020/, Newport, NH
2019    Borders of Consciousness: Dreaming in Color, AVA Gallery and Art Center, Lebanon,
            NH
2018    Northern Stage Lobby Artists Program, Northern Stage Theater, White River Jct, VT
2018    Commentary, The Roth Center, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH
2018    Selections Exhibit 2018, Library Arts Center, Newport, NH
2017    Continuous Explorations in Fibers, Dartmouth College Roth Center, Hanover, NH
2016    Selections Exhibit 2016, Library Arts Center, Newport, NH
2015    Imagine, If You Will…, Dartmouth College Hillel, Hanover, NH
2014    2-D 4-D Fiber Solo Show, Upper Valley Jewish Community, Hanover, NH
2014    Fabrications, Towle Hill Studio, Corinth, VT
 
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2021    Up Close and Personal International Juried Exhibition, The Art Effect at the Trolley
            Barn, Poughkeepsie, NY
2021    Tethered by Light, AVA Gallery, Lebanon, NH, https://theshopatava.com/tethered-by-light
2021    Beauty of Birds, Matt Brown Fine Art, Lyme, NH
2021    XX: Women 2020, CAB Gallery at the University of North Carolina Wilmington,
            https://publish.exhibbit.com/gallery/66513967/long-gallery-15821/
2020    Every Color Has a Story, Flagler County Art League, Palm Coast, FL (Virtual)
2020    Juried Regional Exhibition Online Virtual, Library Art Center & Gallery, Newport, NH
2020    Threaded: Contemporary Fiber in New England, Mosesian Center for the Arts,
            Watertown, MA
2020    FI2019 Fiberart International, Fiberarts Guild of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA.
2020    A Closer Look: The Meaning Underneath, Jaffrey Civic Center, Jaffrey NH
2019    Perceptions of Self(ie), Mosesian Center for the Arts, Watertown, MA
2018    In the Garden, Mededith league of New Hampshire Gallery, Mededith, NH
2018    Art Biologic, Limner Gallery, Hudson, NY
2018    Her Water, Her Future, NHTI Library Gallery, 31 College Dr., Concord, NH
2017    Subversive/Domestic, Shenandoah Valley Art Center, Waynesboro, VA
2017    Ply, Twiggs Gallery, Boscawen, NH
2017    Juried Regional Exhibition, Library Art Center & Gallery, Newport, NH
2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018       Living with Crafts, 81st Annual League of NH
            Craftsmen's Fair, Mount Sunapee Resort, Newbury, NH
2017    Counter-Couture: Fashion and Style in the American Counterculture, 1973-1975,
            Museum of Art & Design, New York, NY
2017    Juried Summer Exhibition, AVA Gallery, Lebanon, NH
2016    End of the Rainbow, League of NH Craftsmen Gallery, Concord, NH
2016    Fiber Innovations II, Parker Arts Culture and Events Center, Parker, CO
2016    Juried Exhibition: Above and Beyond. By Design, Art at the Center, Overland Park, KS
2015-16  Counter-Couture: Fashion and Style in the American Counterculture, 1973-1975, Bellevue Arts Museum, Bellevue, WA
2015    Juried Regional Exhibition, Library Art Center & Gallery, Newport, NH
2015    Juried Exhibition: Above and Beyond. By Design, Art at the Center, Overland Park, KS
2014    Annual National Juried Show 2014, Prince Street Gallery, New York, NY
2014    Me, Myself and I, some things looming, Reading, PA
2014    Finding a Common Thread: A Contemporary Fiber Art Show, Chandler Gallery,  
            Randolph, VT
2013    Fibrous, Whitney Center for the Arts, Pittsfield, MA
2013    Threads, Tubac Center of the Arts, Tubac, AZ
2013    Fantasy: Imagine, The League of NH Craftsmen’s The Gallery at The Craft Center,
            Concord, NH
2012    Fiber Options: Material Explorations, Maryland Federation of Art Circle Gallery,
            Annapolis, MD
2011    Fine Works in Miniature, ArtisTree Gallery, Woodstock, VT
2009    In Your Dreams: Reveries, Fantasies, and Impossible Wishes, The Pen and Brush
            Gallery, New York, NY
1978    Here and Now, Evanston Art Center, Evanston, IL
1976    Beyond the Body Terrain, Mano Gallerie, Chicago, IL

Levi Denim Art Traveling Exhibit  
1974-75 (18-months)
Museum of Contemporary Crafts of the American Crafts Council, New York, NY
M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, San Francisco, CA
Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
The Madison Art Center, Madison, WI
Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Holland
Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, Belgium

AFFILIATIONS and TEACHING
2021-Present               New Hampshire Art Association, juried member
2017-Present              Women's Caucus for Art /NH
2015-Present              Surface Design Association, member
2012-Present              League of New Hampshire Craftsmen, juried member
2012-Present              AVA Gallery and Art Center, Lebanon, NH, member