Sara Brennan

Sara Brennan (b. 1963, Edinburgh, Scotland)

Artist Statement:
"My work has vertical and horizontal blocks, lines and areas that can be traced back through all my work. There is also a consistent color palette. One or two predominant colors, a slight twist to some of the lines, a hidden line of red and yellow giving a subtle definition. I use different whites to change the planes, and I am interested in the horizon, which moves as I work and can change with weather. My main concerns are with tension, initially inspired by landscape, and the medium of tapestry. While I adhere to the medium's construction, I use this as a tool and not the end result.

I like working in series as you can push the depth and push the boundaries. Small tapestries often seem to become part of an ongoing series of work. They can be viewed as a whole or in isolation as individual pieces. They lend themselves to exploring, exploiting and investigating materials and ideas. My work takes its initial inspiration from landscape, responding with a very simplified and reduced use of form. It is an expression of a whole and a personal response."

Selected collections and exhibition venues:
Central Museum of Textiles, Łódź, Poland (10th International Triennial of Tapestry); the Barbican Centre, London, England (Woven Image: Contemporary British Tapestry; traveling exhibition); Aberdeen City Art Gallery and Museum, Scotland; Crafts Council, London, England; Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh and Ruthin Crafts Centre, Wales (Interface: Contemporary Textiles); Nordjyllands Kunstmuseum, Aalborg, Denmark; Deutsches Textilmuseum, Krefeld, Germany (European Tapestry Forum: Artapestry 2005, traveling exhibition); Edinburgh College of Art, Scotland; Sotheby's, London, England; Contemporary Applied Arts, London, England (Darkness into the Light, traveling exhibition); New Jersey Center for the Visual Arts, Summit (Threads: Fiber Art in the 90s); Maison d'Arts, Tunis, Tunisia (European Tapestry).