Moving Forward, Sharon Cosgrove/ A Concept of Nature, Sandra Hoffman

Moving Forward, Sharon Cosgrove/ A Concept of Nature, Sandra Hoffman

Join us for this important two-solo exhibit on Saturday, October 5, from 6-8:00ish pm featuring the gorgeous works of Sharon Cosgrove and Sandra Hoffman

Born in Washington DC and Quaker educated, the artist Sharon Cosgrove is a Professor of Art based in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania where she maintains a private studio and teaches undergraduate courses in studio art. She holds a BFA, MA, and MFA from the University of New Mexico and a BA from Shepherd College. Her paintings and prints have been exhibited in invitational, solo, and juried shows, nationally and internationally and can be found in both public and private collections, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art.  Serving in an “ambassadorial” role for cross-cultural exchange, Sharon’s work has been selected for the Art in Embassies Program sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and was displayed at the U.S. Embassy in Astana, Kazakhstan. As part of this program, she also traveled to Kazakhstan to offer presentations and master classes in conjunction with women’s history month.

Sharon is the recipient of the Medici Award in Painting from the International Biennale Exhibition of Contemporary Art, in Florence, Italy, and has been Visiting Artist at the Brandywine Workshop in Philadelphia, The International School of Art in Umbria Italy, The American Academy in Rome, and the Burren College of Art in Ireland. By student nomination, Sharon received the Non-Traditional and Innovative Teaching Award at Wilkes University where she has served as professor of art for nearly three decades. Additionally, the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, community scholarships, faculty development grants and sabbaticals have helped support her studio practice and commitment to teaching. Sharon has taught in Florence, Italy and facilitated group painting and mural projects with international artists, students, and victims of domestic violence. Her work has been the catalyst for personal, professional, and community transformations.

Watercolorist and oil painter Sandra Hoffman has been featured in many solo and group art exhibitions throughout the metropolitan area including PAFA and The Philadelphia Museum of Art. Sandra's pieces are always in demand and part of many public and private collections including Bell Atlantic, Dupont, IBM, and Blue Cross of Pennsylvania.

Hoffman attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts as well as Tyler School of Art and has been teaching watercolor for the past five years.  Sandra has received numerous awards including the Woodmere Art Museum, the Philadelphia Sketch Club, The Philip Mills Art Exhibition, and Rutgers University. 

Sandra is inspired by walking in nature. As she reworks and reinterprets the subjects, the paintings become environments generated by her imagination. The tactile quality of the paint often inspires the textures in her paintings, she said, and the textures in her paintings reflect the textures found in nature.  “I like to play with the paint, finding accidents on the canvas. I begin to get my feeling from nature and take to the studio in my head then let it flow on my canvas."