Known for his Expressionist paintings of stylized figures and landscapes, artist David Sharpe was born in Owensboro, Kentucky in 1944. He trained at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and launched his career in Chicago before moving to New York City in 1970. Critic Dennis Adrian once categorized Sharpe’s work into organic abstractions influenced by Wassily Kandinsky and Joan Miró, and later figurative works characterized by a diverse range of touchstones drawn from 20th century art. Sharpe’s early complex abstractions were aligned with Chicago Imagism, while his subsequent figurative works, introduced in the late 1970s, synthesized art historical references into vibrant, painterly arrangements. Additional critics have noted Sharpe’s skillful use of color, complex compositions, and his evolving stylistic approach, which has included motifs from literature and mythology, culminating in his Guadeloupe series of radiant tropical scenes. Recognized for its formal sophistication and dynamism, Sharpe’s work has been exhibited at prestigious venues such as the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York as well as the Art Institute of Chicago and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago. Sharpe lives and works in New York with his wife, painter Anne Abrons, and has served on the advisory board of The Painting Center in New York since 2006.
