Lynette Shaw

The Copley Society of Art is proud to exhibit the work of abstract expressionist painter Lynette Shaw in our New Members' Show 2011. Born in New York in 1956, Shaw holds degrees from the Academie des Beaus Arts in Paris and Tufts University, and a diploma in painting from the Boston Museum School of Fine Arts. Public collections of her work can be seen in more than 12 locations in and around Boston, such as the new location of Louis Boston on Fan Pier and the Federal Reserve Building. She has been exhibiting since 1980 in the greater New England area. We are pleased to have Lynette Shaw as one of our new members at the Copley Society of Art.



In her younger years, Shaw was smitten with Picasso, visiting and revisiting an exhibition of his work at the Museum of Modern Art with her mother. As Shaw describes in a video produced by Dan Driscoll, she knew that she was a painter by the time she entered the first grade. Process plays a dominant role in Shaw’s work, and she allows herself to be open to the difficulties and supposed ‘mistakes’ that happen along the creative way. While pouring buckets of paint over sprawling expanses of fabric unfurled upon a Nantucket beach, Shaw confesses that the beginnings of a painting can be quite difficult, but that once the process begins, that is when the ‘magic happens.’ Her advice to young artist rings true: be passionate, have faith in both your work and yourself, and remember that, as Shaw's mother always said, “Talent is nothing without hard work.”

Shaw was recently featured in the Winter 2011 edition of Boston Home. The magazine's article The Rescuers focuses not on Shaw’s expansive canvases, but rather on her Federal-style carriage house and garage turned artist’s home and studio. The reconstruction processes included the relocation of floors, the addition of stairs, utilizing the preexisting stone foundations as wainscoting, and even importing a European fireplace to adorn the interior space of her new studio. Later, on the recommendation of Newton-based designer Susan Corson, modern elements of design were incorporated into the space by refurbishing various pieces of furniture and including several of Lynette’s own canvases in the design layout, creating fresh and striking spaces within the home’s traditional architectural framework

On display in the New Members’ Show is Shaw’s piece Midnight Dream, a large work on unstretched canvas. Shaw originally began her painting career working strictly with abstraction, but, as seen in this piece, began to incorporate a horizon line after spending time living in Nantucket. In this work, Shaw sets small areas of glimmering gold against a matte expanse of varying hues of grey, creating an energetic and engaging composition.

Come by and see Lynette Shaw's work exhibited in the New Members' Show here at the Copley Society of Art! The show will run through February 25th, 2011.

Visit her website at http://www.lynetteshaw.com/