Sarah Smelser
Utilizing transparent veils of color and thin Asian papers, Sarah Smelser creates prints with an abstract sensibility that are informed by drawing and that reference cartography, the body, cycles in nature, and mundane objects. She has exhibited widely, including solo exhibitions at Bridgewater/Lustberg & Blumenfeld, and Kathryn Markel Fine Arts in New York. Her work is included in the collections of the Library of Congress, Ballinglen Museum of Contemporary Art, JP Morgan Chase Art Collection, Reader’s Digest Association, The Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp; New York Public Library, and the Zimmerli Museum at Rutgers University.
Sarah Smelser received her BA from University of California at Santa Cruz, her MA and MFA from the University of Iowa.
Smelser has had solo exhibitions at Bridgewater/Lustberg & Blumenfeld in New York City, Kathryn Markel Fine Arts in New York City, Urban Institute for Contemporary Art in Grand Rapids, MI, Carnegie Mellon University, Bradley University, University of Wyoming, Diablo Valley College, Luther College and Spencer College. Her work has been included in many invitational and juried shows, and been shown at numerous art fairs including Art Frankfurt, Estampa (in Madrid), EXPO Chicago, the Affordable Art Fair NYC, Art Miami, Red Dot Art Fair in New York and Miami, Art Santa Fe, Art Chicago, EDITION Chicago, Boston Print Fair, Baltimore Contemporary Print Fair, Editions/Artists’ Book Fair, and the Los Angeles Art Show. Sarah is Professor of Art and Associate Director of the Wonsook Kim School of Art at Illinois State University, Normal, IL.
