Spirituality and Mortality: An Art Portfolio by Sarah James
Mordaith, inkjet and relief print
Sarah James is an artist who works in painting, printmaking, and photography, emphasizing large blocks of bold colour and repeating geometric patterns in her works. The artist is inspired by ideas of spirituality and mortality, and the aesthetics of historic quilting and tile-making.
I like the sense of quiet complexity in Sarah’s prints -- though each work by itself tends toward a relatively simple composition, often using hard black and white contrast and primary colours, there’s an underlying sense of precision and technical skill that grounds each work and series of works. There’s something meditative, too, about the artist’s prints. Their visual simplicity lends itself to lingering contemplation, and lets the viewer notice details and purposeful imperfections.
In her photographs, I can see Sarah being similarly drawn to large, dramatic blocks of colour -- whether those come in the forms of textiles, dishes, or other elements of scenery. The artist’s photographs represent periods of international travel, though their focus is on a much smaller scale.
