Sarah Kudirka

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. 

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, exquisitely calm, semi-abstract oil paintings touch on human compassion, ideas of sharing space and belonging. Finely wrought but overtly lowtech, Kudirka's work is characteristically incised, scraped, oft-obliterated, deeply textured, colourful surfaces. She paints in oils mainly on linen panels but also applies colours onto instant film snaps and found objects. 

The artist's semi-abstract painting method has been distinctively low-tech for over 30 years – working iteratively with paint, she pulls things apart and rebuilds them. Her ‘trashed canvases’ approach is a fun, risky, violent, extended process but one that in the end yields surface textures of tactile softness. Has always used stripes and lettering in her work, adding in finer lines and dots more recently.

In Kudirka's recent works bowl/boat forms and shell-like swirls bring to mind age-old human stories of journeying across oceans and the gathering and sharing of food. Initially inspired by tideline pebbles, they whisper of coast days - searching in rockpools, skimming stones at water’s edge and playing as a child in sand dunes. Other references include ideas of diaspora and how, from ancient times, oceans were a conduit not a barrier to the movement of people.

Sarah makes pictures iteratively, over months and 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, trashing and scratches. 

Recent shows in Scotland 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 Glasgow.

She is founder/curator of K U D I R K A artist-led space in Glasgow.

As a creative consultant, Sarah had a decade-long affiliation with Arup, the built environment engineering firm. As their inhouse global artist, working with Sir John Sorrell, Sarah developed "The Penguin Pool" from concept to being a successful global events series in 15 major cities worldwide. At Arup she also devised and piloted her "Working Without a Brief" visual thinking training course for designers and other staff.

Experienced in public-realm art delivery planning and commissioning with UK clients such as Yorkshire Water and Tideway, developers, architects and local authorities.

From 2009 to 2017 Sarah was a Board Member/Trustee of ACME Artists Studios charity in London. She has served as an elected council member of the SSA (Scottish Society of Artists) and became a Professional Artist Member of the organisation in 2025, she is also a member of SCAN (Scottish Contemporary Art Network).

While she does not regard herself as a disabled artist, Sarah is partially-deaf in both ears.

NB Until 2012, the artist was known as Sarah K. Davenport. Her degrees and early-career awards were gained under that name.

Contemporary artist based in Glasgow. Also a curator, mother, gardener and mender of clothes with repeated wee stitches. 

Now devoted to painting full-time, previously did many dayjobs in parallel to her practice, including working for the Director/s of Tate Modern and latterly ARUP design engineers, where Sarah turned her global board-level comms consultant role into being their inaugural Artist Inhouse. As well as working on client projects including public realm art commissions, she piloted visual training for non-creatives and founded The Penguin Pool events series (managing rollout in 15 major cities worldwide, with 23 different sessions across 2011-13). 

Born and educated in England with part of her childhood spent in Kenya, now considers herself wholeheartedly Scottish. Partially deaf, but does not call herself a disabled artist.