by Joan K. Yanni
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| Leda and the Dwarf |
Diane Tichell talked with Honore Sharrer about Sharrer's painting, Leda and the Dwarf in the collection of the MAG (Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester, NY) and gathered some information about the work. There is no "story" in the painting. During the time it was painted, abstract expressionism was popular. Sharrer decided that she would turn reality around, as the abstract expressionists did, but in her own fashion. She placed the woman on the horse backwards. The other items in the painting? "Some are personal. Sharrer loves painting metal and jewelry. Thus, both are in the painting. A picture in a newspaper of a farmer, standing in an impoverished yet fruitful field and holding a chicken, inspired the dwarf (though the figure is from Velazquez). The tea set? Just a happy, dancing teapot she had in her childhood. She had it set on a milking stool at the opening of her show in NYC. The pin? Personal. Didn't you ever (in your youth or otherwise) have anything held up by a safety pin? Sharrer is a realist painter, almost photographic. Her juxtapositions are the confusing element in her paintings.
It is Leda not Leada.
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