Shara Hughes

Hughes' captivating work has found its place in renowned collections worldwide, including the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Georgia. Additionally, her art is housed in the Denver Art Museum and the Smithsonian American Art Museum, solidifying her impact on the contemporary art scene.

Biography of Shara Hughes

Shara Hughes, born in 1981 in Atlanta, Georgia, is an acclaimed American painter currently residing and creating in Brooklyn, New York. She pursued her artistic education at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in 2004 and further honed her skills at the prestigious Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture.

In 2017, Hughes gained recognition by being featured in the Whitney Biennial. Her artistic journey has been marked by numerous solo exhibitions, including notable showcases at esteemed institutions such as the Kunsten Museum of Modern Art in Aalborg, Denmark (2023); FLAG Art Foundation in New York (2022); Kunstmuseum Luzern in Switzerland (2022); Yuz Museum in Shanghai (2021–2022); Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis (2021); Garden Museum in London (2021); Aspen Museum of Art in Colorado (2021); and Le Consortium in Dijon, France (2021).

Shara Hughes's Art Style

Shara Hughes employs a mesmerizing blend of dynamic brushwork, vivid hues, and fluid perspectives in her artwork. Her paintings feature recurring natural motifs and patterned elements: sinuous trees, hovering moons, distorted reflections in water bodies, and stippled night skies, intertwined with abstract forms, all harmonizing in unconventional unity.

Hughes seldom relies on reference images; instead, she channels the psychological intricacies of her inner world into rich, layered compositions. Often applying pigment directly onto her canvases, she crafts intuitive, distinctive color schemes reminiscent of movements like color field painting and Post-Impressionism. Through these explorations in image-making, Hughes portrays ever-evolving, kaleidoscopic visions of flora and fauna.