NEW WORKS — AND RESPECT — FROM AN ART-MAKER WHO OBSERVES THAT “HUMAN EXISTENCE DEPENDS ON TREES”

by Edward M. Gómez

The American artist Donna Sharrett lives and works in Ossining, New York, a small town on the east bank of the Hudson River, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) north of New York City. Along with various historic houses and churches, Ossining is known as the home of the Sing Sing Correctional Facility, a maximum-security state prison that once housed New York State’s execution chamber.

Sharrett is one of the most focused, thoughtful artists one might meet today; known for the depth and originality of the research she undertakes in conjunction with her creative projects, she is someone whose art emerges naturally, with a sense of purpose and invention, from her varied but related interests. As Sharrett puts it clearly herself in a statement that appears on her personal website, she works “under the influence” of the roles she plays — with attention and gusto — in her life, including those of artist, environmentalist, gardener, seamstress, and activist.