Teenage Girl , Plaster and recycled chair, 48 x 24 x 24

Sharon Paster has created sculpture which explores what it is to be human on a lifesize scale. The works beg comparison with George Segal whose tableaux of people on park benches and in the street were also lifesize and in plaster, but Paster's work has a more painterly feeling, allowing the viewer to relate to them from their own experience. She has simplified the lines and clothing, leaving just enough to retain the character of her subject. The adolescent male, the teenage girl, the child and the elderly person in their walker are all people we recognize. They are the "cast" of characters in the lives of everyday people. Paster is able to characterize her figures by their gestures and stance. Slumped and self-conscious, alert and confident, frail and vulnerable or pensive, we are able to access and relate to them in their various stages of life. Because they are figures and lifesize, there is an immediate physical response. . We feel their repose or attention in our own limbs.

Sharon Paster began painting at age 13 and later graduated from Brandeis University Phi Beta Kappa with a B.A. in Art. She has continued her studies with Chester Arnold at the College of Marin and sculptor Emily Lazare. Her work on these figures spans a number of years and we are excited to present them as a group in context with other figurative works. The impact is felt and immediate.