About
My work as intentionally unintentional. The act of making is intentional, the process is intentional, however the imagery, subject, and the story of each painting evolves and is developed through the process. There is no overarching concept to the subject matter of my paintings. Each one is an individual. I liken them to having children. I create them, I nurture them, but ultimately my job is to understand the unique identity and story of each painting, and to help it get where it needs to go. I begin each work with automatic drawing, allowing imagery to emerge. I essentially create a Rorschach test for myself. What gets revealed is often hidden parts of my own psyche; fears, insights, memories, desires. Yet my real goal is to tap into that space which accesses something greater than myself. I believe that there is a mystical aspect to painting. The act of mark making on a 2 dimensional surface instantly implies the illusion of space. It creates a tension between the dimensions, and it is within that realm that the space of painting exists. It’s like scratching a little hole in the universe. I believe it’s the job of the painter to scratch that hole, create that space, then crawl in and dig around and see what’s there. To reveal what you discover there and let it be seen.
Sarah Sagarin is a New York City based painter. She approaches her work from a formal aspect, with process and problems of composition being the emphasis, and avoiding “concept” for as long as possible. However despite this approach, the content of her paintings is rich and far reaching, expanding well beyond the boundaries of formalistic concerns. Sarah’s paintings tell stories. The narrative and subject matter of each remains somewhat allusive, yet she pushes the door open just enough to give the viewer space to walk through. Though each painting is it’s own world, and the subject matter varies from the geo-political to the deeply personal, they are unified by Sarah’s self imposed structures of process and palette, and thus create a cohesive body of work. In each painting she is striving to find the tension between composition, concept, and context.
Sarah received her BFA from the University of Montana in 2000 with a dual emphasis is painting and ceramics, and her MFA in painting from the New York Academy of Art in 2003. Sarah’s paintings have been exhibited extensively in New York City, nationally, and internationally. Her work has been included in art fairs in NYC and Japan and her paintings are housed in several private and public collections, including the University of Montana’s permanent collection and the Copelouzos Art Museum in Athens, Greece. She has taught painting, drawing, and composition classes in a variety of settings, including as a Post Graduate Teaching Fellow for NYAA’s MFA program. Sarah was a recipient of the Bronx Museum of the Arts 2017 AIM Fellowship, and she is the Director and a founding member of the South Bronx Independent Artists Coalition which hosts the annual South Bronx Open Studio Tour. Sarah was born in New York City in 1976.
Education
MFA New York Academy of Art 2003 Emphasis in Painting
BFA University of Montana 2000 Dual emphasis in Painting and Ceramics
Lorenzo de Medici Art Institute, Florence, Italy 1998 Painting and Art History
Director of the South Bronx Independent Artists Coalition,
a not for profit organization which works towards broadening and connecting our community. We unite, support, and promote South Bronx Artists with events and programming throughout the year.
Awards and Residencies
2023 Vermont Studio Center AIR, Johnson VT
2022 Ceramics Apprenticeship, Dan Bellow, Great Barrington, MA
2021 Casa Lu, AIR, Mexico City, MX
2020 Copelouzos Family Art Museum 35 x 35 Project, Athens, Greece
2018 Chashama, ChaNorth, Summer Residency, Pine Plains, NY
2017 Con Artist Collective, AIR, Lower East Side, NYC
2016 Joya: Arte + Ecología AIR, Vélez Blanco, Spain
2016 AIM Fellowship, Bronx Museum of the Arts
Solo Exhibitions
2021 I Just Wasn't Made for These Times, Clamp Light Gallery, San Antonio, TX
2017 Happenstance has changed my plans Governor's Island Art Fair/ 4heads Governors Island, NY
2015 Inherently Flawed; Disasters in the Making La Casa Gallery, Harlem, NYC
2-5 Person Exhibitions
2021 Cod Liver Oil and Orange Juice, Casa Lu, Mexico City, Mexico
2020 Realism, Reality, and Surreality, BronxArtSpace, Bronx NY
2018 Angst & Contempt; New Painting Pen & Brush, NYC
Selected Group Exhibitions
2022 Failings, Ejecta Projects, Carlisle, PA
2020 35x35 Project, Copelouzos Art museum, Athens Greece
Postcards from the Pandemic, Beard and Weil Galleries at Wheaton College, Norton, MA
2019 Wheaton Biennial: Brush Coat Cover, Beard and Weil Galleries at Wheaton College, Norton, MA
South Bronx Artists, Hellgate Arts, Bronx NY
Feels Like a New Beginning, Chashama, One Brooklyn Bridge Park, Brooklyn NY
2018 Winter Residency Show Con Artists Collective, NYC
South Bronx Artists 37 Bruckner, Bronx NY
2017 HPGRP Gallery, Osaka, Japan
Bronx Calling: AIM Biennial Bronx Museum of the Arts
2016 Flesh & Bone II, Hillyer Art Space, Washington DC
Osaka Art Fair, Osaka Japan (In partnership with HPGRP NYC)
T.O.A.S.T One Art Space, TriBeCa, NYC
2015 XM Gallery, Crossmedia, Chelsea, NYC
Black and White; Art Imagined in High Contrast, One Art Space, TriBeCa, NYC
Deck the Walls, New York Academy of Art, TriBeCa, NYC
2014 Summer Salon, Greenpoint Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2013 Think Inside the Box, 58 Lispenard Gallery, TriBeCa, NYC
2011 TriBeCa Ball, New York Academy of Art, TriBeCa, NYC
2008 Salon de Refuses, Freddy's Bar, Brooklyn, NY
2007 Everyday Objects in Art; Works from the Permanent Collection, Montana Museum of Art and Culture, Missoula, MT
Real Art Ways, Hartford, CT
Footprints, Grand Space, Brooklyn, NY
Panel Discussions and Artist Talks
2021 Open X-Files, Casa Lu, Mexico City, MX
2020 Realism, Reality, and Surreality, BronxArtSpace, Bronx NY
2018 Angst & Contempt; New Painting, Pen & Brush, Moderated by Rahsaan Gandy,
Reviews and Press
Artnet
Editors’ Picks: 13 Things to See in New York This Week
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/editors-picks-april-2-1247603
The Feminist Art Project
Exhibition - "Angst and Contempt: New Painting"\
Mott Haven Herald
First South Bronx Open Studio tour shows off local talent
http://www.motthavenherald.com/2018/06/02/18406/
Washington Post
In the galleries: Bodies that are more than flesh and bone
Inherently Flawed; Disasters in the Making
Review by Julie Condon
http://www.lacasadearte.org/reviews/
The New York Times
An Exhibition Notable for What’s Not There By Paul Berger
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/18/nyregion/thecity/18cens.html
The New York Observer
Atlantic Yards Without the Controversy By Matthew Scherman
http://observer.com/2007/02/atlantic-yards-without-the-controversy/
NY Arts Magazine
Imagined Interiors Review by Jennifer Wroblewski
http://www.nyartsmagazine.com/?p=3545
The Brooklyn Paper
Images the Brooklyn Public Library Doesn’t Want You to See
http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/30/7/30_07librarycensorship.html