Sara Sisun
Sara Sisun is a visual artist based in Boulder, Colorado. She has exhibited internationally and is the recipient of the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant, the Stacey Scholarship, and the Alpine Fellowship. She holds a BA from Stanford University in Art Practice, an MFA in Painting from the San Francisco Art Institute, and an MA in Art History from the University of Colorado, Boulder with an emphasis on Critical Theory. Sara teaches in the departments of Illustration, Foundations, and Liberal Arts at Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design.
Could you tell us more about your background and how you began creating art?
I started painting at the Art Students League of Denver when I was six years old. Studying at the league was a connection I maintained through college. I was fortunate to connect with a community of successful professional artists. I continued to study art in college and graduate school, where I learned about the history of my medium and was pushed to make more conceptually complex work.
What does your art aim to say to its viewers?
I'm interested in painting from perception, using perception to amplify the tension and psychological weight of experience.
Can you tell us about the process of creating your work? What is your daily routine when working?
Lately, I put some things on the table in front of a north light window. I usually work for between 3 and 6 hours at a time, depending on the light and how far I can push the painting. Usually the next day, there are things I don't like, and try to adjust them. I've been working less from photographs, but that has been part of my practice in the past. When I do I set up similarly and maintain a similar routine. I have also worked from a collage I make, something I will probably return to in the future.
What is the essential element in your art?
Attention and perception.
In your opinion, what role does the artist have in society?
The artist is a reminder of non-objective ways of knowing. I feel this is important the more technology becomes integral and invisible in society. Art is an alternative to surveillance.
