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Kelly Sherman's Foster Award-winning art included "wish lists" that she pulled from the Internet.
Cambridge artist wins coveted Foster Prize
By Alexander Stevens
Wed Feb 14, 2007, 01:24 PM EST
It was way back in 2005 that Cambridge artist Kelly Sherman received a letter from the Institute of Contemporary Art informing her that she was one of 64 artists being considered for the prestigious James and Audrey Foster Prize, given biennially to a local artist of exceptional promise.
“I was so excited,” she remembers, but she didn’t have great expectations. “I thought it was a done deal at that point. That was [the end].”
Then in the spring of 2006 she found it wasn’t a done deal. She got a call from the I.C.A. saying that she was one of four finalists, all of whom would share an exhibit at the brand spanking new I.C.A. on the Boston waterfront. (The exhibit, featuring the work of Needham artist Rachel Perry Welty, Roslindale artist Jane D. Marsching, Jamaica Plain artist Sheila Gallagher and Sherman is now on display through March 11 at the I.C.A.)
“Phone calls can be good,” Sherman says with a chuckle. “I was thrilled with the exhibition. I felt on top of the world. I tried to focus on how elated I was,” she says, and she tried not to obsess on the thought of actually winning.
Well, it turns out that phone calls can be more than good; they can be great. When the phone rang on Sunday afternoon, it was the I.C.A. with the best news yet. The panel of judges had deemed her the winner of the 2006 Foster Prize, along with the $25,000 that comes with it.
“There was jumping and screaming and a little bit of crying,” she says. “And a little bit of shock.”
Sherman, a 28-year-old Inman Square resident whose bedroom doubles as her studio, received lots of attention for her Family Home series. With the use of changing floor plans, Sherman takes viewers through the painful transition of a family going through a divorce. Ironically, the technical approach to the subject — floor plans — results in the viewer making a greater emotional connection to the subject.
Sherman’s Wish List series also caught the attention of judges and patrons. She pulled from the Internet the wildly divergent “wish lists” of wildly divergent people, including homeless men, a soft core porn star, and a family recovering from the devastation of Katrina.
She expects the Internet will continue to play an important role in her art.
“The beauty of the Internet is that you can find such incredible diversity just by hitting ‘return’,” she says. “And people reveal themselves so much more online.”
Maybe now that she’s recovering from the shock of winning, Sherman can gain some perspective on the award and what it means to her.
“It’s definitely encouragement,” she says. “I’ve reconciled myself to the idea that my work may not have mass appeal. I’m prepared for the worst. So this was the best kind of surprise and affirmation. It makes me feel like I want to go full speed ahead.”
That’s all well and good, but here’s the real question: What’s she going to do with the $25,000?
Artists may not be known for being practical, but Sherman seems to have her priorities straight as she thinks about the debts she can settle. In response to the money question, she says, “Visa will be very excited.”
The work of the four finalists for the Foster Prize remains on exhibit at the I.C.A. through March 11. Call 617-478-3100.
