Sarah Stolar
Sarah Stolar’s work is rooted in a 25-year investigation of the female psychological narrative, common threads in her work include loss of innocence, sexuality, power, death, spirituality, and identity.
Acceptance, 2020
Sarah Stolar (b. 1974, Chicago, IL; she/her) is an interdisciplinary artist who lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The breadth of her work includes painting, drawing, multi-media installation, film, video, and performance art. Rooted in a 25-year investigation of the female psychological narrative, common threads in her work include loss of innocence, sexuality, power, death, spirituality, and identity.
Narcissus, 2020
Sarah is the daughter of artist and educator Merlene Schain (1948-2022) and a descendant of 19th-century German painter Adolph von Menzel and Rookwood Pottery master potter John von Menzel of the American Arts and Crafts Movement. She grew up in her mother’s art studio and award-winning art school Schain Studios in Cincinnati, received a BFA in Painting from the Art Academy of Cincinnati (2000), and an MFA in New Genres from the San Francisco Art Institute (2003).
Ice Pack, 2021
Her work has been exhibited across the United States and internationally with solo exhibitions at the New Mexico Museum of Art, Harwood Museum of Art, and BGMoCA in Montevideo, Uruguay. She is an internationally award-winning filmmaker, including Best Experimental Film at Synergy Film Festival, New York City and New Jersey International Film Festival, and finalist for the Andy Warhol Award for Best Experimental Film in the US. Sarah also works collaboratively with notable artists. She was Annie Sprinkle and Beth Stephens’ costume designer for six years and performed with them at numerous venues, including the 53rd Venice Biennale in the Fear Society Pavilion. Specializing in large-scale figurative oil painting, she recently portrayed Balitrónica Gómez of La Pocha Nostra and Lucy Lippard. Sarah has been featured in multiple media outlets including Yale University Radio Archive, Fifty Feminist States, The Nation Magazine, Hyperallergic, and CNN Style. A committed educator for over fifteen years, Sarah Stolar is currently the Chair of the Department of Fine Arts and Digital Media at the University of New Mexico - Taos.
The Grief Club