Sharon Monagle is a visual artist whose portraits and figurative works are instilled with a sense of abstract expressionism wielded as a tool for exploring and articulating the nuances of human behaviour.
Based in Somers on the Mornington Peninsula, Sharon began painting in earnest in 2016 rendering themes of politics, social justice, human rights, gender identity, gender roles and feminism onto canvas. The demands of her work as a medical practitioner with a strong interest in mental health are balanced by her time in the studio producing paintings that are often informed by her fascination for the human experience, particularly the experiences of women.
Through her command of colour and her ability to secrete personality and intimate character into the faces and forms she realises, Sharon’s self-taught proficiency introduces authenticity and relatability into the mental health narrative to ever so slightly lift the stigma that hangs so heavily upon it. Words are also leveraged as a tertiary layer of engagement to position the viewer through titles that give people a way into the artwork while not defining it completely. This generosity, consideration and understanding gently leaven the clinical anonymity of the presented themes.
Sharon's paintings are held in private collections across Australia, UK, France, Canada, Singapore and USA. Three remain in the permanent collection at Chateau d’Orquevaux, France.