Sarah Martin-Nuss
My paintings draw inspiration from biological systems, post-humanist thought, and the intricate web of ecological relationships. These elements converge within a style of painting I call “transfigurative,” which embraces the constant coevolution of the body with other forms of life, environment, and technology. I create orchestrations of color, line, and space that evoke a sense of exchange, activation, and transformation. Scratching directly into the paint to create a dynamic visual effect that responds to even the subtlest of changes in light, my paintings have a layered, tactile quality. My compositions obscure the typical figure/ground relationship and resist easy categorization as landscapes, figurative representations, or pure abstractions. Metamorphosis, growth, and decay happen simultaneously, suggesting that various temporal states—past, present, and future—can coexist within a single visual field.
Oscillating between macro and micro, my work merges imagery associated with biological systems and celestial phenomena to create visual narratives that explore a realm where the boundaries between the microcosm of biological entities and the vastness of cosmic bodies blur, inviting contemplation on the shared threads of existence across scales.