The Night of Darwin (1996), Acrylic/Canvas, 65 x 60", 165.1x152.4cm

From early performances (e.g. the 'Hitler Toss' at Fisherman's Wharf) to the iconic canvases of the '90s (*Doctor X *; *The Night of Darwin*) gravity's unpredictable pull continues to play a pivotal role. As the artist cultivates a compelling Jackson Pollock-meets-Captain Marvel aesthetic, he floats hyperrealistic figures (resurrected from moldy undervalued secondary sources -- B-movie posters, pulp novel covers, etc.) atop ebb-tiding abstract nebulae. In an art-negative society that pillories art--and artists-- as either frivolous or dangerous, perhaps it's not surprising that Sheridan's paintings have periodically elicited myopic shrieks of 'sexploitation' (populated, as they are, with a sex-positive cast of bodacious femmes, as well as chiseled beefcakes like 'George Brush' and 'Captain Triumph') and have felt the sting of the censor's lash.

-- Harry Roche, Curator.