Presence of Water, 2026

John Sabraw  

John Sabraw turns one of industrial pollution's most visible residues into luminous colour. Working with scientists to recover iron oxide from streams affected by acid mine drainage, he makes paintings in which environmental repair and artistic ambition are materially inseparable. His paintings are immediately compelling as paintings. Radiant colour, fluid movement and layered depth evoke rivers, geological processes and aerial landscapes without describing a single location. Sabraw balances spontaneity with exceptional technical control, creating works that feel alive with movement while remaining formally resolved. Scientific collaboration is central to the practice. Sabraw works with environmental scientists and engineers whose remediation research makes it possible to separate iron oxide from polluted water and process it into stable, artist-grade pigment, so the ecological story is embedded in the material itself. Sabraw is Professor of Art at Ohio University. His work is held in public and private collections, including the Bank of America Art Collection, and his pigment research has received international attention through a TEDx talk, BBC Radio 4, Smithsonian Magazine, Time and New Scientist.