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About

Sara Berman examines the societal constructs of the female experience and radicalizes the historically female domain of portraiture by depicting a harlequin figure as a sorceress or trickster. As a former fashion designer, Berman engages the materiality of the canvas in painterly evocations of textiles, patterns, and interiors that highlight the female body. In these loose representations of self-portraits, Berman reclaims a female gaze and feminine power. Her figures reside in a space of confident self-reflection, highlighted by muted tones and delicate washes of color rendered with a fluidity of line. She works layers of paint onto the surface—scraping and wiping—and in the process suggests the distortions from which the audience views the female body. Berman’s work eloquently suggests a transgressive beauty by the combination of defiant figures with a gorgeous materiality.

Sara Berman was born in 1975 in the UK, and lives and works in London. She studied fashion (BA) at Central Saint Martins in the 1990s and worked in fashion before studying for her MFA at Slade UCL in 2016.

Exhibitions include Between Community and Commerce, Site specific installation ZAZ10TS Time Square, New York (2018); Matter Out Of Place, 93 Baker St. London, Frieze (2018); and Big Cactus Little Cactus, Galerie Huit, Hong Kong (2017), Home is where the Art is, De Kunsthal, Rotterdam (2022); Like there is hope and I can dream of another world, Hospital Rooms in collaboration with Hauser & Wirth, Hauser & Wirth, London, UK (2022); Summer Exhibition 2021, Royal Academy of Arts, London (2021). Berman’s work can be found in the collection of The House of KOKO, London; The Poort Visser collection, Netherlands; The Maison Estelle, London, UK; The RO2 Art Collection and the Montparnasse Collection, Canada.

Selected Works

This image depicts an artwork by Sara Berman titled "The Fool 2." This artwork was created in 2024 and measures 51 ³⁄₁₆" x 23 ⁵⁄₈" [HxW] (130 x 60 cm). Its medium is Oil on linen.
Sara Berman
“The Fool 2,” 2024
This image depicts an artwork by Sara Berman titled "Aviatrix 1." This artwork was created in 2024 and measures 14 ⁹⁄₁₆" x 11 ⁷⁄₃₂" [HxW] (37 x 28.5 cm). Its medium is Oil on linen.
Sara Berman
“Aviatrix 1,” 2024
This image depicts an artwork by Sara Berman titled "The Fool 5." This artwork was created in 2024 and measures 14 ⁹⁄₁₆" x 11 ⁷⁄₃₂" [HxW] (37 x 28.5 cm). Its medium is Oil on linen.
Sara Berman
“The Fool 5,” 2024
This image depicts an artwork by Sara Berman titled "The Fool 1." This artwork was created in 2024 and measures 66 ¹⁵⁄₁₆" x 66 ¹⁵⁄₁₆" [HxW] (170 x 170 cm). Its medium is Oil on linen.
Sara Berman
“The Fool 1,” 2024
This image depicts an artwork by Sara Berman titled "Fencer 2." This artwork was created in 2024 and measures 13 ²⁹⁄₃₂" x 11 ²⁹⁄₃₂" [HxW] (35 x 30 cm). Its medium is Oil on linen.
Sara Berman
“Fencer 2,” 2024
This image depicts an artwork by Sara Berman titled "Over there." This artwork was created in 2024 and measures 43 ¹¹⁄₃₂" x 31 ¹⁄₂" [HxW] (110 x 80 cm). Its medium is Oil on linen.
Sara Berman
“Over there,” 2024
This image depicts an artwork by Sara Berman titled "Renaissance Man 2." This artwork was created in 2024 and measures 22" x 18" [HxW] (55 x 45 cm). Its medium is Oil on linen.
Sara Berman
“Renaissance Man 2,” 2024
This image depicts an artwork by Sara Berman titled "Gone." This artwork was created in 2024 and measures 25 ¹⁹⁄₃₂" x 23 ²¹⁄₃₂" [HxW] (65 x 60 cm). Its medium is Oil on linen.
Sara Berman
“Gone,” 2024
This image depicts an artwork by Sara Berman titled "Cowgirls." This artwork was created in 2022 and measures 78 ³⁄₄" x 78 ³⁄₄" [HxW] (200.03 x 200.03 cm). Its medium is Oil on linen.
Sara Berman
"Cowgirls," 2022
This image depicts an artwork by Sara Berman titled "Sitting Pretty." This artwork was created in 2023 and measures 59" x 51 ¹⁄₄" [HxW] (149.86 x 130.18 cm). Its medium is Oil on linen.
Sara Berman
"Sitting Pretty", 2023
This image depicts an artwork by Sara Berman titled "Metamorphosis II." This artwork was created in 2023 and measures 59 ¹⁄₁₆" x 51 ³⁄₁₆" [HxW] (150.01 x 130 cm). Its medium is Oil on linen.
Sara Berman
"Metamorphosis II", 2023
This image depicts an artwork by Sara Berman titled "Ladybird." This artwork was created in 2023 and measures 79" x 79" [HxW] (200.66 x 200.66 cm). Its medium is Oil on linen.
Sara Berman
"Ladybird", 2023

Exhibitions

1975
Born in London, UK
Lives and works in London, UK
1995-1999
Saint Martins School of Art and Design, London, UK
2014-2016
MFA Slade School of Art, London, UK

Selected Solo and Two Person Exhibitions

2024
"Lapdogs and Fools," Vielmetter Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
2023
"No Visible Means of Support," Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, Palm Beach, FL
2022
“Home is where the art is”, The Kunsthal Museum, Rotterdam, Netherlands
"Armoured," Kristin Hjellegerde Gallery, London, UK (Two Person)
2021
"Taking Space," Kristin Hjellegerde, London, UK
"Inside / Outside," Janet Rady Gallery, London, UK
2020
"Scene Unscene," Gallery 46, London, UK (Two Person)
2018
"Solitaire," Sapar Contemporary NYC, New York, NY (Two Person)
"Matter Out Of Place," curated by VO Curations and supported by Outset, 93 Baker St London, UK
"Between Community and Commerce," curated by Tamar Dresdner, ZAZ10TS 10 Times Square, New York, NY
"Double Ententre," Anat Ebgi, Los Angeles, CA
2017
"Big Cactus Little Cactus," Galerie Huit Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Selected Group Exhibitions

2024
“Fabric of Life," The Paul Smith Space, London, UK
2023
"Where the Wild Roses Grow," Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, Schloss Görne, Germany
Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, London UK
Miart Art Fair, With Mimmo Scognamiglio, Milan, Italy
Eye of The Collector Art Fair, with Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, London, UK
"Perpetual Portrait," Vielmetter Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
2022
Untitled Miami Beach, Art Fair, Miami, FL
"Home s where the Art is," De Kunsthal, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
"Armoured," Dual-show with Luella Bartley, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, London, UK
"Like there is hope and I can dream of another world," Hospital Rooms in collaboration with Hauser & Wirth, Hauser & Wirth, London, UK
2021
Untitled Art Fair, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, Miami, FL
"Facing the Sun," Schloss Goerne, Germany
Enter The Art Fair, Copenhagen, Demark
2020
"Supastore," NIDA Art Colony, Lithuania
"We Could Apply Our Lipstick," C&C Gallery, London, UK
"Isolated Observations," Candida Stevens Gallery, Sussex, UK
Cure3 Exhibition, Bonhams, London, UK
2019
Exeter Contemporary Open, Exeter Phoenix, Exeter, UK
Hauser and Wirth Hospital Rooms Fundraising Auction, London, UK
"Think In Pictures with Amelchenko," Curated by John Newsom Orchard Street, New York, NY
2017
"Dark Wood," Transition Gallery, London, UK
Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, London, UK
"Young Gods," Charlie Smith Gallery, London, UK
2016
"Topophobophilia," Gallery 46, London, UK
"Names," Transition Gallery, London, UK
2015
"Imagine," Londonewcastle Project Space, London, UK
"Symposium for Drawing," BAK Museum, Utrecht, The Netherlands
"BP Portrait Prize," National Portrait Gallery, London, UK

Bibliography

2024
Rattenbury, Jack. "A Whimsical Art Exhibit On Witchcraft Will Transform This Charming London Chapel," Secret London, June 6
Sporn, Stephanie. "Eight contemporary artists explain how fashion shaped their practices," ArtBasel, June 3
2023
Asome, Carolyn. "Five designers who traded fashion for art careers," Financial Times, October 15 (Link)
Sorensen, Marlene. "The Art List," Harper's Bazaar, September 13
Artnes News Staff. "13 Artists Poised to Break Out Big in 2023, According to Naomi Beckwith, Marilyn Minter, and Other Art-World Insiders," artnet, January 2
2022
Conti, Samantha. "Luella Bartley Is Back, With Sculptures, Drawings of Complex Bodies," WWD, October 13
Dozier, Ayanna. "The 10 Best Booths at The Armory Show 2022," Artsy, September 9
Jana, Rosalind. "The exhibition examining the power of undressing," i-D, September 6
2017
FAD Magazine Staff. "Marcelle Joseph Interviews Recent Slade Graduate And Former Fashion Designer, Sara Berman," FAD Magazine, January 19

Public and Private Collections

The House of KOKO, London, UK
Montparnasse Collection, Canada
Poort Vissner Collection, The Netherlands
RO2 Art Collection