Shari Weschler, branded as Sumo Bunni, is a figural narrative painter who exhibits nationally and internationally.  She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from the Maryland Institute College of Art, with concentration in painting and art history.  While attending MICA she also studied drawing, printmaking and gelatin silver photography.

 

Weschler's arts related professional experience includes, Studio Assistant for an avant-garde quilting artist, Artist-In-Residence and Elementary Arts Education through her company Artrageous Adventures.  Her curatorial experience began in Baltimore in the 1990s for The Ellicott City Theatre Gallery and continued into Rhode Island in 2013 as a partner and curator/gallery director for Coastal Living Gallery in Wickford and Warren RI.  She hosted over twelve exhibits a year and was invited as portfolio reviewer for the Cambridge Art Association, guest juror for The Warwick Museum of Art, Spring Bull, WAA & PAC.  As a Co-Founder of Providence Center for Photographic Arts (PCPA) she co-curated an exhibition of exceptional northeastern female photographers honoring Women’s Month, March of 2017.  

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Weschler is an owner and the director of Coastal Contemporary Gallery founded May of 2018 in Newport, Rhode Island.  CCG was awarded Best Contemporary Gallery in 2021 with Rhode Island Monthly Magazine's yearly 'Best Of' edition and represents over thirty national and regional artists with an expanding list of guest artists.  She believes strongly in collaboration and building bridges.   

 

Her own artwork has toured globally with the Affordable Art Fairs throughout Europe, Asia and NYC through Retrsopect Galleries and Artzandra Gallerie.  She was the featured artist for the sponsor of Affordable Art Fair, Stockholm 2017.  Weschler has had over thirty solo exhibitions, participated in over forty group shows and has been published extensively.