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In Sharon Booma’s new works, vibrant fields of color burst across the canvas, supporting an expertly balanced structural harmony. Rich, multiple layers of pigment lend the paintings an immense depth, as if hidden regions lurk behind the surface —an effect heightened by Booma’s masterful control of shadow and light. Sections of steel, seamlessly incorporated into the paintings, add a sense of coolness and weight, helping to ground her more elusive forms.

Booma speaks of her work as being “representative of the effort to find a balance between the tangible materials that surround us and the ungraspable spiritualism that defines us as individually unique people.” It is this concept, perhaps, that causes us to respond to her paintings on such deep and visceral level. While the philosophy behind her work does not announce itself in literal terms, her images nevertheless have an irresistible intrigue, the ability to stir powerful emotions. Among Booma’s major influences is Henri Matisse, leader of the French Fauve movement, who believed color communicated meaning and who emphasized the bold use of vivid pigment in his work. For Booma, too, color represents that which is uncontained, full of life and joy. She moderates the emotions of her colors through the use of shape and form, exerting careful control over the ultimate mood of her paintings.

Another of Booma’s inspirations is Abstract Expressionism—particularly the work of Robert Motherwell, who simplified forms to concentrate on bold brush strokes and intense, focused color. Motherwell sought to combine the conscious world in which we live with the realm of the unconscious, linking many of his abstract forms to the conscious world through his titles. Like him, Booma views her abstractions as manifestations of her psyche: Using a language of pure color and exquisite composition, her paintings are like thoughts made visible.

Solo Shows: 2007 - Campton Gallery, New York NY; Olson/Larsen Gallery, West Des Moines, Iowa; Anderson O’Brien Fine Art, Omaha Nebraska. 2006 - LewAllen Contemporary, Santa Fe New Mexico; CaldwellSnyder Gallery, San Francisco, California; Arden Gallery Boston, Massachusetts. 2005 - Caldwell Snyder Gallery, New York NY; Olson/Larsen Gallery, West Des Moines, Iowa; Anderson O’Brien Fine Art, Omaha Nebraska. 2004 - Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco CA; Lewallen Contemporary, Santa Fe New Mexico. 2003 - Anderson O’Brien Fine Art, Omaha, Nebraska. 2002 - Lewallen Contemporary, Santa Fe New Mexico; Olson/Larsen Gallery, West Des Moines, Iowa. 2000 - Anderson O’Brien Fine Art,Omaha, Nebraska_Lewallen Contemporary, Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Group Exhibitions:
2005 - Jules Place, Boston, Massachusetts
2004 - Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco, California
Ameringer & Yohe, Boca Raton, Florida
Jules Place, Boston, Massachusetts
2003 - Harvard Spring Exhibition – In Good Company, Boston, Massachusetts
Ameringer & Yohe, Boca Raton, Florida
Olson/Larsen Gallery West Des Moines, Iowa
Hayden Gallery, Lincoln, Nebraska
2002 - Olson/Larsen Gallery, West Des Moines, Iowa
2001 - Hayden Gallery Group Invitational, West Des Moines, Iowa
Hayden Gallery Small Treasures, West Des Moines, Iowa
Olson/Larsen Gallery Group Show, West Des Moines, Iowa
2000 - Hayden Gallery Small Treasures, Lincoln, Nebraska
Hayden Gallery Group Invitational, Lincoln, Nebraska
1999 - Hayden Gallery, Lincoln, Nebraska
Hillmer Gallery Women and Aging Show, Omaha, Nebraska
Anderson O’Brien Gallery, Omaha, Nebraska
Olson/Larsen Gallery, West Des Moines, Iowa
1998 - Anderson O’Brien Gallery, Omaha, Nebraska
Olson/Larsen Gallery, West Des Moines, Iowa
1997 - Anderson O’Brien Gallery, Omaha, Nebraska
Bemis Gallery Women’s Caucus For Art, Omaha, Nebraska
1996 - Anderson O’Brien Gallery, Omaha, Nebraska
1994 - Tom’s Price Gallery, Wheaton, Illinois
1993 - Tom’s Price Gallery, Wheaton, Illinois
Graphic Source Gallery, Barrington, Illinois
1992 - Norris Cultural Arts Center, St. Charles, Illinois
1990 - The Creamery Gallery, Geneva, Illinois
The Connecticut Gallery, Marlborough, Connecticut