Sara Berman (b.1975) lives and works in London; she completed her MFA at Slade School of Art, UCL in June 2016 where she was awarded a distinction and the Audrey Wykeham prize for painting. Working across painting and textiles, Sara has had solo shows in London, Hong Kong, LA and New York as well as being included in multiple group shows. Her work is held in a number of private collections.
Previously Berman worked as a fashion designer. After obtaining her BA in Fashion Design and Marketing at Central Saint Martins in 1999, she founded and ran her eponymous fashion brand for 15 years. She also worked as a design consultant and business consultant to a variety of fashion design, retail and corporate companies finally closing the business in 2016 to focus on the visual arts.
Sara Berman Artist Statement
Spaces and Constructs form the basis of my practice.
By Space I reference the internal, virtual, imagined and felt spaces in contrast with the reality of the physically existent. In ‘Construct’ I reference the stories we tell and believe in.
The interior spaces we occupy- in particular the domestic or those we hold most clearly in our minds as belonging to us- become extensions of self. They contain the things we have gathered around us or recall most readily as well as the practical mundanities of everyday life. The domestic interior, real or imagined, is like a display of the patterns of commerce and consumerism tempered by personal choice and legacy. Our own little Museums of Self. However lightly we touch them, our mark is somehow made and within those marks, patterns are formed. I use the word pattern with intent. I am interested in repetition and bricolage and my use of materials reflects this. I work with different textures and layers, juxtaposing mathematical geometry with textiles, objects and semi representational figures melting into the spaces around them, overwhelmed but still awkwardly present.
Along side painting I am also exploring textile-based works using lint, weaving and vintage textiles and garments.