Sarah Kudirka
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“You know when you find something in your pocket that you picked up then forgot about? Familiar but unknown, a wee treasure, your fingers feel around its surfaces, its edges. Not until you pull it out of your pocket and see it in your hand do you know what it is” SK
Sarah Kudirka’s paintings have long been about exploring the shapes and edges of stuff, kind of like that. Described by art writer Jan Patience as “work that is beautiful, layered and thoughtful” these finely worked, semi-abstract oil paintings touch on human compassion, ideas of sharing space and belonging.
Style characterised by incised, scraped, oft-obliterated, deeply textured, paint surfaces. The artist's methodology has always been distinctively low-tech but made with fine materials, made to last. Working iteratively in countless paint layers, she pulls things apart and rebuilds. Her ‘trashed canvases’ approach is a technically risky, violent, fun and noisy extended process that finally yields surfaces of an almost textile softness. Has always used stripes and lettering, later adding in fine brushstroke lines and tiny dots in later paintings.
Kudirka's 'Across Oceans' series employs bowl/boat forms and shell-like swirls to suggest age-old human stories of journeying across water and the gathering and sharing of food. Other references circle around diaspora and how, from ancient times, oceans were a conduit not a barrier to free movement of people.
Sarah makes paintings iteratively, over months and even years. Each has its own object memory as she revisits old canvases, ripping previous works apart to achieve her distinctive surfaces. They are created meticulously in expanses of colour, with intricate fine brushstrokes, repeated layering and glazing, wiping and scratching.
Recent shows include solo exhibitions at Edelweiss Gallery and The Briggait in Glasgow. Group shows include SSA and VAS shows, the Royal Scottish Academy, An Tobar Isle of Mull, Stallan Brand, Tatha Gallery, Kirkcudbright Galleries, South Block Project Space, and the Art Car Boot Sale at Tramway/SWG3 with Patricia Fleming Gallery.
She is founder/curator of K U D I R K A non-profit space in Glasgow.
As a creative consultant, Sarah had a decade-long affiliation with Arup built environment engineering firm. As their Inhouse Artist artist Sarah developed "The Penguin Pool" from concept to being a successful global events series held in 15 major cities worldwide.
Experienced in public-realm art selection and commissioning with developers, architects and local authorities.
Lived Experience
Contemporary artist based in Glasgow. Also a curator, mother, gardener and mender of clothes with repeated wee stitches.
Devoted to painting full-time now, previously had many dayjobs in parallel to her practice. For a decade working with ARUP engineers, Sarah pivoted her global board-level comms role to being their Artist Inhouse. She founded The Penguin Pool events (managing rollout in 15 major cities worldwide for 23 all different sessions 2011-13)
Born and educated in UK with part of her childhood spent in Kenya, now permanently based in Scotland. Partially deaf/hard of hearing.
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