Sharon Core (born 1965) is an American artist and photographer. Core first gained recognition with her ''Thiebauds'' series (2003-4) in which she created photographic interpretations of American painter

Wayne Thiebaud Morton Wayne Thiebaud ( ; November 15, 1920 – December 25, 2021) was an American painter known for his colorful works depicting commonplace objects—pies, lipsticks, paint cans, ice cream cones, pastries, and hot dogs—as well as for his la ...

's renderings of food. Two of her works in the ''Thiebauds'' series, ''Candy Counter 1969'' (2004) and ''Confections'' (2005) were acquired by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in 2005.

Early life and education

Core was born in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students for pursuing a professional education in the visual, fine or performing arts. It is also called Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA) in some cases. Background The Bachelor ...

in 1987 from the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

and a

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts a ...

from the

Yale University School of Art The Yale School of Art is the art school of Yale University. Founded in 1869 as the first professional fine arts school in the United States, it grants Masters of Fine Arts degrees to students completing a two-year course in graphic design, painti ...

in 1998, which is where she received the George Sakier Memorial Prize for Excellence in Photography.

Career

After studying painting at the University of Georgia, Core moved to Stockholm, Sweden. She then settled in Prague in 1993, where she first practiced photography seriously and created a baking business based in her own apartment. In 1996, she returned to the United States to attend the Yale University School of Art. For her thesis project, which was centered around the ritual of eating, she photographed people consuming their favorite foods. This project led to her early series, ''Drunk'' (1998–2000), in which she captured portraits of intoxicated guests at a party she organized as well as those she found at local gatherings. Her next series, ''Early American'' (2007–2010), remodeled the

still life A still life (plural: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly wikt:inanimate, inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or artificiality, m ...

s of 18th century American painter

Raphaelle Peale Raphaelle Peale (sometimes spelled Raphael Peale) (February 17, 1774 – March 4, 1825) is considered the first professional American painter of still-life. Biography Peale was born in Annapolis, Maryland, the fifth child, though eldest survivin ...

. Similar to the photographs of ''Thiebauds,'' Core again focused on the idea of process, growing the early 19th century produce in Peale's paintings in her greenhouse and collecting period dish ware. She also painted the walls in the backdrop of the photographs to echo Peale's painting techniques. These works were on view at the

Yancey Richardson Gallery Founded in 1995, the Yancey Richardson Gallery is a dealer of fine art photography, based in New York City and founded by Yancey Richardson. Formerly housed in the 560 Broadway building in Soho, the gallery moved to New York's Chelsea art district ...

in New York City from October 23 to December 6, 2008. Core's project ''1606-1907'' (2011–2015) explored three centuries of flower paintings. For her subsequent project "Understory" (2015), Core takes inspiration from the seventeenth-century Sottobosco tradition of Dutch paintings of forest floors. According to a description in The New Yorker, "Core's new pictures revel in decay and wildness. Snails slither across bright, wet leaves; pink flowers collapse in a pile of petals; a toad peers from the shadows, camouflaged in the dirt."

Copyright controversy

In her series ''Thiebauds'' (2003–2005), Core recreated 18 of Wayne Thiebaud's food paintings of the 1960s. She was inspired upon viewing Thiebaud's

retrospective A retrospective (from Latin ''retrospectare'', "look back"), generally, is a look back at events that took place, or works that were produced, in the past. As a noun, ''retrospective'' has specific meanings in medicine, software development, popu ...

at the

Whitney Museum of American Art The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is an art museum in the Meatpacking District and West Village neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1930 by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875–194 ...

in 2001. According to Robert Panzer, the executive director of the Visual Artists and Galleries Association (the copyright collective that represents Thiebaud), "Wayne Thiebaud is concerned with the use that Sharon Core has made of his work...The reproductions she has made are largely straightforward versions of his paintings."

Personal life

Core lives and works in

Esopus, New York Esopus ( ) is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 9,041 at the 2010 census. The town was named after the local indigenous tribe and means "small river" in English. They were one of the Lenape (Delaware) bands, b ...

Exhibitions

Core has presented solo exhibitions at spaces across the U.S.: * ''White Room Exhibition,''

White Columns White Columns is New York City’s oldest alternative non-profit art space. White Columns is known as a showcase for up-and-coming artists, and is primarily devoted to emerging artists who are not affiliated with galleries. All work submitted is ...

, New York (2000) * ''Sharon Core: Photographs'',

Clementine Gallery A clementine (''Citrus × clementina'') is a tangor, a citrus fruit hybrid between a willowleaf mandarin orange ( ''C.'' × ''deliciosa'') and a sweet orange (''C. × sinensis''), named in honor of Clément Rodier, a French missionary who firs ...

, New York (2001) * ''Thiebauds,''

Bellwether Gallery Bellwether Gallery was a New York City art gallery based in Chelsea. Director and owner Becky Smith was recognized as an important promoter of emerging artists since the gallery's 1999 opening in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn.Genocchio ...

, New York (2004) * ''Early American'',

, New York (2008), * James Kelly Contemporary, Santa Fe, New Mexico (2009), * Hermes Foundation, New York (2009), *

Savannah College of Art and Design Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) is a private nonprofit art school with locations in Savannah, Georgia; Atlanta, Georgia; and Lacoste, France. Founded in 1978 to provide degrees in programs not yet offered in the southeast of the Un ...

, Savannah, Georgia (2009) * Project Gallery,

, New York (2010) * ''1606-1907,''

, New York (2011) * ''Still Lives: Early Works by Sharon Core,''

Mint Museum The Mint Museum, also referred to as The Mint Museums, is a cultural institution comprising two museums, located in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Mint Museum Randolph and Mint Museum Uptown, together these two locations have hundreds of collection ...

, Charlotte, North Carolina (2013) * ''Understory,''

, New York (2016)

Selected collections

Core's works have also been purchased by various institutions: * Alturas Foundation, San Antonio, Texas *

Amon Carter Museum Amon may refer to: Mythology * Amun, an Ancient Egyptian deity, also known as Amon and Amon-Ra * Aamon, a Goetic demon People Momonym * Amon of Judah ( 664– 640 BC), king of Judah Given name * Amon G. Carter (1879–1955), American p ...

, Fort Worth, Texas *

Cleveland Museum of Art The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is an art museum in Cleveland, Ohio, located in the Wade Park District, in the University Circle neighborhood on the city's east side. Internationally renowned for its substantial holdings of Asian and Egypt ...

, Cleveland, Ohio *

Columbus Museum The Columbus Museum in Columbus, Georgia was founded in 1953. It contains many artifacts on both American art and regional history, displayed in both its permanent collection as well as temporary exhibitions.J. Paul Getty Museum The J. Paul Getty Museum, commonly referred to as the Getty, is an art museum in Los Angeles, California housed on two campuses: the Getty Center and Getty Villa. The Getty Center is located in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles and fea ...

, Los Angeles, California * Lannan Foundation, Santa Fe, New Mexico *

Montclair Art Museum The Montclair Art Museum (MAM) is located in Montclair, New Jersey, United States, a few miles west of New York City. Since it opened in 1914 as the first museum in New Jersey that granted access to the public and the first dedicated solely to a ...

, Montclair, New Jersey *

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of ch ...

, Washington, DC *

Norton Museum of Art The Norton Museum of Art is an art museum located in West Palm Beach, Florida. Its collection includes over 8,200 works, with a concentration in European, American, and Chinese art as well as in contemporary art and photography. In 2003, it ove ...

, West Palm Beach, Florida *

The Phillips Collection The Phillips Collection is an art museum founded by Duncan Phillips and Marjorie Acker Phillips in 1921 as the Phillips Memorial Gallery located in the Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Phillips was the grandson of James H. Laughli ...

, Washington, DC *

Princeton University Art Museum The Princeton University Art Museum (PUAM) is the Princeton University gallery of art, located in Princeton, New Jersey. With a collecting history that began in 1755, the museum was formally established in 1882, and now houses over 113,000 works o ...

, Princeton, New Jersey * Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art, State University of New York, New Paltz, New York *

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, often referred to as The Guggenheim, is an art museum at 1071 Fifth Avenue on the corner of East 89th Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It is the permanent home of a continuously exp ...

, New York, New York * The Mint Museum, Charlotte, North Carolina *

The National Museum of Women in the Arts The National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA), located in Washington, D.C., is "the first museum in the world solely dedicated" to championing women through the arts. NMWA was incorporated in 1981 by Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay. Since openin ...

, Washington, D.C. * The Norton Collection, New York, New York * The West Collection, SEI, Oaks Park, Pennsylvania * The Zabludowicz Collection, London England, Sarvisalo, Finland, New York, New York * University of Virginia Art Museum, Charlottesville, VA *

Yale University Art Gallery The Yale University Art Gallery (YUAG) is the oldest university art museum in the Western Hemisphere. It houses a major encyclopedic collection of art in several interconnected buildings on the campus of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. ...

, New Haven, CT

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Core, Sharon American women photographers American contemporary artists 1965 births Living people 20th-century American photographers 20th-century American women artists 21st-century American photographers 21st-century American women artists Artists from New Orleans Photographers from Louisiana University of Georgia alumni Yale School of Art alumni People from Esopus, New York