Sarah Leahy

Lives and works in New York, NY, USA

Artist statement

Throughout the past 30 years as an artist, I have sought to create work that has a sensory, tactile presence with a luminous depth, painting that is profoundly present. My work presents what seems ordinary and recognizable, yet is often unnoticed and can be deeply beautiful and moving. What appears conventional can be enough to give pause, even for a moment. To accomplish this I developed a unique method of painting black India ink onto the front sanded surface of plexiglass creating both intimately scaled and mural-size works. The images are made by painting multiple layers of delicate ink washes, building soft grays and deep blacks, while alternately removing areas of ink with sandpaper to yield a luminous white. This allows me to literally embody the representation of light within the imagery, integrating the luminosity refracted in the plexiglass with the subject, creating a vivid transcendent presence.

Artwork