A Playful Approach: Art by Sara Kaltwasser
TIX, mixed media participatory painting
Sara Kaltwasser takes a playful approach to her artistic practice, blending toys, games, and other forms of entertainment with fine art sensibility. The artist’s works span a variety of media, and sometimes include interactive elements.
Mobile Play Table, participatory sculpture, mixed media
Sara’s recent series Play Works is an interesting meditation, blurring the line between art, activity, and play. The pieces in the series are often participatory, allowing viewers to become part of the sculpture by moving pieces of it, and playing the game that the sculpture is based on. For example, one work takes the form of a chessboard, and audiences are encouraged to play the game.
The front page of Sara's portfolio website
An accompanying series, Play Histories, compiles stories from interviews with Baltimore residents about the nature and narratives of play. The works in this series take the form of painted portraits that are layered over backgrounds of text and quotes, presumably from the same person. The result feels well-rounded, like a solid, multi-layered impression of a person.
