Sharon Kopriva

Cathedrals, Phantoms and Naked Dogs

May 14^th to June 25^th, 2011

Opening Reception: Saturday, May 14^th from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.

Deborah Colton are pleased to announce an exhibition of recent works by Sharon Kopriva at Deborah Colton Gallery, Houston.

In “Cathedrals Phantoms and Naked Dogs,” Kopriva’s past religious imagery becomes a backdrop to address social issues and political events. The underlying foundations of the larger two dimensional works are from found, altered and enlarged images of cathedrals which become backgrounds for imaginary, mystical and sometimes whimsical works on canvas. The few remnants of past Kopriva popes and ghosts have been all but replaced by phantom dogs running amuck amid “hallowed halls” and serene woodland scenes where the forest itself becomes a palace. Rich and gestured lines are fused with relief elements and build outs.

In some of the paintings, hairless hounds become metaphors for basic human social qualities. These canines mirror our inner, secret feelings as they irreverently traipse, dance and fly across columns and arches of spacious, once holy cathedrals. The dogs symbolize both the anxiety and curiosity of life in these chaotic times. Three-dimensional hounds, both plaster and bronze, accompany the wall works, exhibiting human expressions of pride, avarice, gluttony, envy and lust, basic human frailties that continue to feed war, political turmoil, hunger and religious unrest.

Sharon Ortman Kopriva is a Houston native. Her career was kicked off in 1985 in the “Fresh Paint” exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. In the past twenty-five years she has shown her art in major cities of the United States, Mexico, Peru, India, Cuba, China and parts of Europe. Her most noted exhibition was a solo curated by the legendary Walter Hopps at the Menil Collection in 2000. Her most remembered might be an accidental group exhibit at the Harris County Morgue. Her works are included in ten public collections.

Deborah Colton Gallery is founded on being an innovative showcase for ongoing presentation and promotion of strong historical and visionary contemporary artists world-wide, whose diverse practices include painting, works on paper, sculpture, video, photography, performance, conceptual future media and public space installations. The Gallery aspires to provide a forum through connecting Texas, national and international artist s to make positive change.