Sherri Andrews is a person where the artist inside came out later — in bursts of movement and color.
But before that — and her solo exhibition opening on Saturday, July 2, at the Zuzu Gallery in Lawrenceville — she was a young woman in East Orange who hustled her way through Drew University and Harvard Business School and promised herself she would make enough money to be comfortable and not financially worry.
“I worked intensely in the financial field, commuting into NYC daily and raising my son, along with my husband (Daniel Luchansky), who was also in the financial business. With a grueling commute and demanding job, I had very little free time and hadn’t realized I might have a hidden talent,” Andrews says.
But after 10 years as a hedge fund portfolio manager at Quattro Global Capital and another seven years at another hedge fund, Andrews decided that 2017 was a good time for her to get out of finance and into something that had crept into her life four years before.
“I went on vacation with a friend in 2013 at Enchantment Resort in Sedona, Arizona, which offered a complimentary watercolor class. The class was full, but I asked the instructor, a former art professor, to try to squeeze me in, which he graciously did. In that 90-minute class, I was transformed. It was like a spiritual experience when I picked up the paint brush. After that, I was hooked.”
Susan Rizzo, the director of the Lawrenceville-based Zuzu Gallery, which represents Andrews locally, says, “I first saw Sherri Andrews’ work at a pop up show in Princeton. When I opened Zuzu Gallery in September, 2021, I knew I wanted to offer her work. I love her paper collages, and the new figures on the marble tiles.”
About her own work, Andrews says, “I work in a number of unconventional media, including alcohol inks, paper collage, and mixed media. I started my journey in art with watercolors but then saw photos of alcohol inks on Pinterest with their strikingly bold colors and flowing paint. I started experimenting with the medium but applied watercolor techniques while adding textures and heavy layers. In 2018 I entered the juried art show at the Ellarslie and was awarded the Ben Whitmire Award for Emerging Artists and was honored that the museum purchased my painting.”
Andrews also says she is self-taught. “I watched a lot of YouTube videos. I am not formally trained in art. I studied economics in college and went to business school. When I started painting, I would paint along with the instructors I liked on YouTube. I also bought books so that I could learn certain techniques and took a few classes locally. Mostly I just experimented. There are no rules in art, right? In many ways, not having formal training allows me to be more free-spirited in my art.”
A Plainsboro resident, Andrews paints in an oversized studio in what in real estate terms is called a bonus room — a large room over the garage with a pool table left in it by the previous owners.
On a recent day, Andrews can be seen sporting an Everlast T-shirt while working on several pieces at a time. Around her are collages and paintings of figures, land and seascapes, abstracts, florals, and many of women and women dancing. Though not offering details, Andrews alludes to the difficulties a woman encounters in her previous field of finance.
Sharing more of her approach, Andrews says, “My art tends to use bold colors and communicates a sense of joy, of letting go,” she says. “I let the paint flow, layer papers, and use materials in unconventional ways. It is a meditative process for me where I get lost in the art of creating, and I think the viewer senses that. I transport the viewer to my imaginary world.”
Additionally, she says she collects “inspiration and photos everywhere: a field trip to a local flower farm, a photograph of rolling hills, floral arrangements, ballerinas in motion. My camera roll is full of inspiration for color combinations and compositions. Much of my artwork, however, is derived from imagination and memory. It is an intuitive process of laying down paint and paper while paying attention to how the textures and color feel. I tend to work quickly and then come back to it after a few days.”
A huge rack in her studio holds 200 rolls of handmade paper that Andrews uses for her collages, yet she laments that some of her favorites are not to be found anymore, as certain pattern papers become obsolete or hard to come by. The handmade paper collages are sometimes joined by acrylic paint on the workpiece.
She says she recently began working with handmade papers collected from around the world. “I find inspiration in the patterns and textures. The beautifully rich papers can provide ideas for paintings. One collector remarked that my paper collages look like my alcohol ink paintings.”
She also likes experimenting with media. “My favorites right now are paper and acrylics. You could describe me as an ‘art supply junkie.’ I love trying new materials and tools. I have dabbled in oils but find them challenging, especially color mixing. My colorful landscapes, florals, and dancers have been well-received. I can become attached to some of my figurative pieces, the drawings come alive, so it can be difficult to sell those except to close friends.”
“I also gravitated from watercolors to alcohol inks, and my paintings stood out. It was easier to make art uniquely my own by using different materials. When I was running tight for a deadline for an art donation, a friend suggested that I cut up a giclee of one of my watercolors and make a bold-colored collage. That started me on my collage journey. Sometimes I combine ink, fiber paste, acrylics, and, most recently, gold leaf with my collages. I am not afraid to take risks, and that inevitably involves some failure.”
Andrews credits the West Windsor Arts Council for helping her become involved with showing and presenting.
“I was a volunteer at WWAC for over a year before I was asked to join the board. After serving on the board, I was elected president. One of the projects for which I am most proud is hosting a fundraiser honoring Priscilla Algava. Priscilla was my teacher and mentor, as well as a talented artist. Part of the mission of local arts organizations is to support artists. That fundraiser, which was hugely successful, also made her very happy in the last few months of her life. The proceeds were devoted to subsidize art classes for those who couldn’t otherwise afford to take classes.”
During her tenure on the board at WWAC, Andrews bring some of her former life to the organization. “My business skills have been a welcome addition to the nonprofit sector, bringing a more ‘bottom line’ perspective. I also donate artwork to support local causes including Homefront, Arts Council of Princeton, and West Windsor Arts Council.”
She also credits her husband. “(He) is my right hand person and my biggest supporter. He helps with all my shows; curator, art critic, handyman, and logistics. I couldn’t do it without him.”
Sherri Andrews, Zuzu Gallery, 23 Phillips Avenue, Lawrenceville. Opening reception Saturday, July 2, 2 to 6 p.m. On view through August 27. www.zuzu-gallery.com.
Artist Sherri Andrews in the studio in her Plainsboro home.,
