Sarah Wall
Degree: Fine Art
University: Arts University Bournemouth
Graduation Year: 2023
New Blood Art Commentary
These shapes are largely painted, but you wouldn't guess it. Resembling the paper cutouts of Matisse more than the markings of a paintbrush, Sarah Wall takes care to remove these abstract, ambient shapes from the conditions of their production. With original and surprising use of colour, Sarah conjures 'landscapes and fragments' on a flat plane with smooth shapes that overlap to create new relations and dynamics. In 'Untitled', deep, arresting blue contrasts with rich tangerine, as curved organic shapes meet confetti-like pink squares. These squares find their echo in the bottom-right corner, as the composition is pulled together by textured grey-green line work which frames the piece, recalling a map or topography. 'No Nutritional Value' seems to play with the suggestion of a landscape, with greens, browns and blue hinting at the simple immediacy of a child's conception. Vibrant pinks pull the composition out of the 'real' or straightforwardly figurative, the large, smooth planes of colour balanced by minute repeating patterns. 'Pillow Talk I' and 'Pillow Talk II' feature rounded shaped that merge and separate, complemented by more linear blocks that provide a kind of stability in the corners of these compositions. Throughout, the colours are creamy and ambient, shapes untethered, seem to drift gently across the canvases.
Richard Waring, Course Leader BA (Hons) Fine Art Degree BA MA SFHEA:
'Sarah’s paintings show a confidence with scale and the interrelationships of colour, form and gesture, and how these are positioned in pictorial space. Importantly each painting emerges from a direct line of enquiry that forms a coherent body of work.'
Artist Statement
In my artistic practice, I delve into the realm of painterly spaces, actively exploring and experimenting to construct a landscape comprised of fragments and segments. Through this process, I compress shapes onto the picture plane, generating an ambient atmosphere while uncovering interactions and movements between various forms. My approach involves a systematic application of flat planes of colour, which coexist with translucent shapes that seem to float on the canvas. This interplay initiates a dialogue between the distinct painted surfaces, each influencing and responding to the other. I deliberately dissolve lines to hide the manner that the paint has been applied, while also incorporating or leaving behind traces of more expressive forms that accentuate the illusion of texture, and the painter’s hand. The exploration of composition has emerged as a vital component of my work. By adopting an explorative approach, I have discovered new techniques that enable me to deconstruct forms, giving rise to a fresh array of shapes through layered applications. This intuitive method empowers me to transcend the limitations of conventional representation, fostering an arrival of the abstract through the figurative. By simplifying and overlapping forms, I create novel shapes and dimensions within the painted surfaces, evoking a sense of familiarity without directly representing anything tangible.
Group Exhibitions
(2023) The Graduate Art Show, The Vanner Gallery, Salisbury
(2023) Zest, Bumf Gallery, Bournemouth
(2023) The Graduate Art Show, The William Gallery, Soho, London
(2023) WSA Painting Prize 2023, The Winchester Gallery, Winchester
Competitions, Prizes & Awards
(2023) Dorset Art Prize
(2023) WSA Painting Prize