sherry ying ruden bio
STATEMENT
A contemporary approach to traditional materials - Inspired from her life of the East and West, Sherry’s use of traditional Chinese Xuan (rice) paper, though fragile, is surprisingly versatile. She continuously experiments with different methods - resulting in striking but subtle luminescent outcomes. Unlike Chinese painting with brush and ink, where the artwork is mounted afterwards, Sherry reverses the process by manipulating the material, creating shapes and colors based on the paper’s natural grain and texture while adding mixed media elements along the way. She calls it Zì-Rán 自然, In Chinese this means nature, or the flow of things, ensuring her subject matter will be fluid and unique each time. The outcome is always uniquely individual, giving the artist complete freedom for endless possibilities to explore.
ABOUT SHERRY
Sherry’s life began in China's greatest cultural city – Shanghai. Surrounded by culture thousands of years old, she developed a deep appreciation for the spirit of Chinese art; a unity of painting, poetry, and calligraphy. After quitting her job as an accountant, she attended the prestigious Shanghai University of Fine Art. Traveling throughout China, her early works focused on landscapes and village studies primarily in oil. She has had multiple exhibitions at Shanghai Fine Art Museum - at the time, the only gallery that exhibited works of contemporary artists. After graduating with honors, she decided it was time for a change and moved to Seattle, Washington. Always active in the local art community, her personal journey has evolved from the more traditional figurative to pure abstraction.
With a deep interest in western calligraphy - based on ancient scriptures, Sherry now incorporates these traditions into her series of Chinese rice paper collages. With her Asian heritage combined with a love of cultural travel, she sees endless ideas through their native materials and languages.
Sherry seeks to communicate from within the beauty of color and form. To pursue these inspired emotions without a boundary of East and West.