Shari E. W. Boraz Fiber Arts
Hand Embroidery and Fiber Design
Shari Boraz and Shari Wolf-Boraz
Artist's Journey (detail), 18″ H x 18” L, Hand embroidery
ARTIST STATEMENT: As a fiber artist specializing in hand embroidery and artist-designed base fabrics, my imagery is inspired by a meditative process that uncovers my unconscious thoughts. I often use photography as a starting point.
Having earned a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, I engage my training in color theory, composition, textile design, and photography.
My art has been shown in museums and galleries across the United States and Europe. A career highlight was being named one of 50 winners of the Levis Denim Art Contest.
About the Artist
Shari earned a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she majored in textile design. Her goal is to attract the viewer to her art and provoke their intellect with creative thoughts.
Boraz begins with either white cotton textiles or printed cotton textiles that she has created by digitally manipulating original photographs. She then uses thread to “paint”, using meticulous hand embroidery stitches in a slow, meditative pace. The variety of embroidery stitches, including French knots with complementary threads and color combinations, results in nuanced coloration and a vibrating pointillist effect.
The artist has been greatly influenced by the psychedelic and pop art movements of the 1960s, including Peter Max, Josef Albers’ color theory (1888-1976), pointillism (late 1880s), and the intricate detailing found in Flemish Renaissance art (15th- 17th centuries). In addition, Gauguin, Cézanne, Matisse, Picasso, and Chagall all impact her aesthetics. Influences that share her way of communicating through emotive and deeply personal symbolism include Frieda Kahlo, Kiki Smith, and Louise Bourgeois.
Boraz’s art has been exhibited in museums and several juried and invitational exhibitions and is in museum collections. She is a member of the Women's Caucus for Art, the New Hampshire Art Association, the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen, the Stamford (CT) Art Association, and AVA Gallery and Art Center (Lebanon, NH).
Shari E. Wolf Boraz Artist Resume
Hanover, New Hampshire - https://www.instagram.com/sew_boraz/
EDUCATION
SCHOOL OF THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO, Chicago, Illinois. B.F.A. in Art Education and Textile Design
COLLECTIONS
Numerous Private Collections
HONORS and AWARDS
2019 Best in Show, Fiberlicious, Loading Dock Gallery, Lowell, MA
2017 First in Show Award, Subversive/Domestic, Shenandoah Valley Art Center, Waynesboro, VA
1994 First Place, Grailville Quilt and Fiber Art Show, Loveland, OH
1981 Honorable Mention, Appalachiana Recollections Wearable Vest Competition and Exhibit, Bethesda, MD
1973 Honorable Mention, Levi Strauss & Co. Denim Art Contest, San Francisco, CA
MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS
2017 Counter-Couture: Fashion and Style in the American Counterculture, 1973-1975, Museum of Art & Design, New York, NY
2015-16 Counter-Couture: Fashion and Style in the American Counterculture, 1973-1975, Bellevue Arts Museum, Bellevue, WA
1974-75 (18 months) Levi Denim Art Traveling Exhibit (catalog)
Museum of Contemporary Crafts of the American Crafts Council, New York, NY
M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, San Francisco, CA
Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
The Madison Art Center, Madison, WI
Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Holland
Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, Belgium
SOLO and SMALL GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2025 Selections Exhibit, The Library Arts Center in Newport, NH
2020 Juried Regional Exhibition Online, Library Art Center & Gallery, Newport, NH
2019 Borders of Consciousness: Dreaming in Color, AVA Gallery and Art Center, Lebanon, NH
2018 Northern Stage Lobby Artists Program, Northern Stage Theater, White River Jct, VT
2018 Commentary, The Roth Center, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH
2018 Selections Exhibit 2018, Library Arts Center, Newport, NH
2017 Continuous Explorations in Fibers, Dartmouth College Roth Center, Hanover, NH
2016 Selections Exhibit 2016, Library Arts Center, Newport, NH
2015 Imagine, If You Will, Dartmouth College Hillel, Hanover, NH
2014 2-D 4-D Fiber Solo Exhibition, Upper Valley Jewish Community, Hanover, NH
2014 Fabrications, Towle Hill Studio, Corinth, VT
GROUP EXHIBITIONS - too many to list
AFFILIATIONS
2025-Present Stamford Art Association
2021-Present New Hampshire Art Association, juried member
2020-Present AVA Gallery and Art Center
2017-Present Women's Caucus for Art /NH
2012-Present League of New Hampshire Craftsmen, juried member