SHEILA CRIDER: Relief

March 24th - May 10th, 2024

In her recent body of work entitled “Relief”, Sheila Crider explores a very personal era that blends the story of her recent migration from her foundational home of Washington, D.C.  with two earlier bodies of work—"Intersectional Painting," executed between 2017 and 2021, and "Ghosts Stories," (2021 and 2022). Narrating the themes of sequence, transition, and place, Crider describes:

“This current series employs remnants and techniques from one series and the subject matter of the other. Exploring three dimensionality using applique and weaving, it speaks of solitude, acceptance and resolution through faith and awareness of what is and what will be.”

Sheila relocated to Baltimore, Maryland in 2022. The upheaval of transition is impossible to ignore, and often creates a challenge to sustain the natural progressions of thought and order. Yet, the artist’s agility with the use of materials, and characteristic color sensibility continue as a vital force.  “Relief” is a testament to Crider’s ability to engineer both materially and figuratively a new vision.

From “Intersectional Painting”, Sheila re-introduces the concept of the “ideal human community”; a community that is collaborative, conscientious, and non-destructive. The series translates these values through the conservation and use of on-hand materials, fashioned by process that references the concept of community. “Ghosts Stories” interprets a discovery of process.  In essence, the works in this series are created by a derivative methodology that transfers the echo of an image/composition to another surface, creating (what is known in printmaking) a “ghost”.  The magic of what materializes ventures into the realm of spiritual encounter. Both series employ quilt batting as a substrate, creating an unlikely yet perfect foundation for Crider’s inventive use of materials that are sometimes metaphorically associated, but are re-plotted in ways that bend the impression of form.