Artist Statement
My work is abstract in nature because I am expressing ideas that transcend the limits of the realistic image. Each piece reflects the intimacy and subtle relationships of form, texture and color. Current work involves the use of new materials with an awareness of naturalistic markings and surface treatments within a restrained color palette.

This body of work continues my exploration of the “Burnished Series” - the play of light reflected in the surfaces of the paintings and achieved through a complex layering of gold, silver and bronze powders suspended in solutions.  The focus here is on the sensual nature of the paint applied with a wide range of techniques.  The tarnished gold and silver patinas are primitive and elegant, luscious with surfaces textured, dripping, encrusted, scarred or smoothly polished.  Bits of color below the surface interplay with the luminous shimmer of metallics to create a pentimento that is evocative of a mysterious past washed in the glow of the new.

About the Artist
Nobleman uses a variety of methods to create his textural, minimalist works. The effect is very subtle, leading the viewer into a quiet meditation on the expressive quality of each work. Nobleman took his MBA from the University of California at Berkeley. He has been exhibited both in the US and Asia and his works can be found in many distinguished public and private collections. Sherman Nobleman's work is steeped in emotion, reflective thought and beauty. Like personal impressions of billowing clouds in an afternoon sky, how work allows space for subjective interpretation. An extension of his abstract expressionist predecessors, he seeks not to teach or convey a message, but to allow the viewer a moment to pause, reflect and interpret. Nobleman’s work is an invitation to become lost in the layers, veil and mystery of the emotional and the intuitive world.


Sherman Nobleman
Biography/ Exhibitions        
Education
1963 and 1965, B.A. & M.B.A., University of California, Berkeley, California
Solo Exhibitions

2008, “Sensuality”, Patricia Carlisle Fine Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico
2008, “Sensual”, I. Wolk Gallery, St. Helena, California
2007, “New Work”, Patricia Carlisle Fine Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico
2007, “Recent Paintings”, I. Wolk Gallery, St. Helena, California
2002,“Evolution Series,” Gallery Ocean Avenue, Carmel, California
2001, “New Paintings,” Bradford Campbell Gallery, San Francisco, California
2001, SoCo Gallery, Arts Council of Napa Valley, California
2000, “New Works 2000,” Markham Vineyards, St. Helena, California
1999, “Abstract Landscapes,” 255 California Street, San Francisco, California
1999, “New Work,” Gallery AMI, Seoul, Korea
1999, “Paintings,” Markham Vineyards, St. Helena, California
1996, “Fire Rings and Other Paintings,” St. Supery Vineyards, Rutherford, California
1995, “Recent Paintings,” Robert Mondavi Winery, Oakville, California
1995, “The Outside Series I, II, III”, Benjamin Falk Gallery, Napa, California
1995, “The Inside Series,” Ken Elias Gallery, West Palm Beach, Florida
1993, “Visions of Spring,” Napa Valley Museum, St. Helena, California
1992, “Layers of Meaning,” Chroma Art Gallery, San Francisco, California
1990-1991, Chroma Art Gallery, San Francisco, California
1990, Hewlett Packard Corporate Headquarters, Palo Alto, California
1989, Budji Corporation, San Francisco, California
1989, San Francisco Tennis Club, San Francisco, California
1988, Young Gallery, Saratoga, California
1988, Metro Contemporary Gallery, Foster City, California

Selected Group Exhibitions
2006, “Recent Paintings”, Costello-Childs Contemporary Fine Art, Phoenix, Arizona
2006, “Paradise Lost and Found”, Napa Valley Museum, Yountville, California
2001, “Earth and Sky,” Bradford Campbell Gallery, San Francisco, California
2001, “SF et al.,” Bradford Campbell Gallery, San Francisco, California
1997-2001, Manifestation d’ Art Nouveau International et Forum, Seoul, Korea
2001, “New Work,” Gallery Ocean Avenue, Carmel, California
2000, “Art and Wine Label,” Sonoma Valley Museum of Art, Sonoma, California
2000, “New Work,” Denise Roberge Gallery, Palm Desert, California
2000, Gallery AMI, Seoul, Korea
1996 and 1999, Ken Elias Gallery, West Palm Beach, Florida
1999, “Masques for the Millennium,” Di Rosa Preserve, Napa, California
1999, “Paintings,” Denise Roberge Gallery, Palm Desert, California
1995, “Poisson d’Avril,” Benjamin Falk Gallery, Napa, California
1992, “Self Portraits,” Synopsys, Inc., Mountain View, California
1992, Quantum Corporation, Mountain View, California
1991, “Seven Artists,” G. Martin & Associates, Los Gatos, California
1991, The Point Gallery, San Francisco, California
1990, “Works on Paper,” Trinity Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia
1990, Andrea Schartz Gallery, San Francisco, California
1988-1992, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Rental Gallery, San Francisco, California
1989, “Art Inspires Fashion,” Wilkes Bashford, San Francisco, California
1988-1989, The Reece Galleries, New York City, New York
1989, Sixth Alcoa Foundation/Gallery ’76 Juried Art Exhibit, Wenatchee, Washington
1989, Interart Gallery, San Francisco, California
1987, 3 C.O.M. Corporation, Santa Clara, California

Community
2002-2003, Instructor for the Gate Program, Calistoga School District, Odyssey of the Mind
2002, “The Chair as a Work of Art”, Napa Arts Council, Napa, California
2002, Napa Valley Wine Auction Bacchus Celebration, Napa Valley Museum, Yountville, California
1992, Board of Advisors, Chamber Theater, San Francisco, California
and Set Design, “Otherwise Engaged” Chamber Theater, San Francisco, California
1992 Bay Area Arts Relief Program
1992 Created and directed an art project for victims of the Oakland Firestorm, Kaiser School

Selected Collections
Auberge de Soleil, Rutherford, California

Cisco Systems, San Jose, California

Weidenhammer Systems Corporation, Wyomissing, Pennsylvania

Devcon Corporation, San Jose, California

Fibreboard Corporation, Concord, California

The Henry Company, Huntington Beach, California

Dr. Forest Melick Hinkhouse, Founding Director, Phoenix Art Museum
, Arizona
Corde Valle, San Martin, California

Publications/Awards
2007, “Sherman Nobleman: Curiosity Period”, Focus Magazine, Santa Fe, New Mexico
2002, “The Chair As a Work of Art,” St. Helena Star, St. Helena, California
2002, “Take a Seat,” The Napa Valley Register, Napa, California
2001, Art Scan, Napa Valley, California
1993, Silver Award in Contemporary Painting, Art of California Magazine
1988, International Art Competition, Certificate of Excellence for Outstanding Achievement in Painting, New York
1988, “Galleries Elect” Competition, Los Angeles, California

Sherman Nobleman
An Interview with the Artist (excerpt)

SHERMAN NOBLEMAN: CURIOSITY, PERIOD.
Under a crayon-blue sky, I journey to Canyon Road in Santa Fe to view the work of Sherman Nobleman. Upon entering the gallery, the scale of the work initially strikes me, each canvas occupies a slightly larger space than I expected.
With each step forward, preconceived notions evaporate; the veneer temporarily dissolves. At a pen's distance I perfect both the squat and the tiptoe while losing myself in Nobleman's mastery. From here one can feel tactile warmth, as tones turn golden. At this intimate proximity I witness layers upon laborious layers, miles of doting. Fine fissures echo fragility while folds and gathers create motion, mimicking the untamed choreography of grass in wind. I envision 
a pre-storm bluster whipping through Nobleman's studio.
As I back away, a rich winter landscape emerges, weighty snow obscuring a deep forest with illusions of a horizon. The "Burnished Series" plays with light and proximity, the combinations are endless. Nobleman's work is immediately simple, yet infinitely complex.
Following my visit, I painstakingly structure my interview questions, and telephone the artist in St. Helena, California; it's afternoon.
Nobleman is a veteran of the arts, with a 30-plus-year career. He speaks fluently of his work while boasting an unassuming, yet impeccable, education in the arts and a stunning resume. He effortlessly answers nearly every question I labored over.
How is one able to achieve three decades as a career artist? Nobleman answers without pause, "curiosity, period." "I have to create; the impulse has become a priority." He likens me to his son as he continues, stating, "my son asked me once, 'daddy, where does inspiration come from?'" "If I knew that I would be wise," Nobleman replied. Each painting series is an extension of the preceding body of work. It is an evolution, incorporating threads of layers that are visible and those that exist just beneath the surface. One concept built upon the next-from past works of immense color to current studies in sublime grace-becomes the ongoing creation and solution of a mystery. Clearly process oriented, the work reveals immediacy and spontaneity. These are not classic painting techniques, but rather intuitive and experimental gestures. The artist is ultimately searching for elegance; the desired outcome is visceral, not precious. Truly mixed media, the enriched surfaces combine gold, silver and bronze powders with, often uncontrolled, applications of paint, scrims, screens, tape and velum.
The ongoing theme is duality, freedom and structure. Freedom is critical in Nobleman's process, however the result must be a complete composition. The artist reveals, "Through chance I am often surprised by the result." Many painters say there is no accident in their work, while Nobleman admits, "I am structured to allow for surprises; I never want to get to a place where I know the outcome before I begin." Helen Frankenthaler stated, "you have to know how to use the accident, how to recognize it, how to control it, and ways to eliminate it so that the whole surface looks felt and born all at once."
Cy Twombly is cited as a primary inspiration, an influence that is evident in Nobleman's gutsy paintings. Twombly's work is notorious for its wild freedom and lack of viewer relation. Twombly allows a certain breathe, or space, to exist, exhibiting no need to fill every aspect of the work. Nobleman structures his 
process to allow for the same freedom.
I come upon this statement by Nobleman, "•allowing something to be not quite perfect, slightly disturbing, but not confrontational." I ask the artist to address this quote by relating it to a life situation. Quickly equating his statement to relationships, he says, "They are never really perfect, are they?" "This lack of perfection creates lasting excitement, maintaining our interest•nobody wants a simplistic relationship." Nobleman continues, "Cleaning up everything results in a boring painting•life and art are found in nuance."
I strongly encourage everyone to view this work in person.
Samantha Paige Furgason
Patricia Carlisle Fine Art,  Santa Fe, New Mexico