The Winding Ancient Stair

Painter Mary Sauer was born in Greenville, Kentucky in 1986. Her work has been exhibited throughout the United States including over a dozen shows in New York City alone. Mary is a 2014 recipient of The Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant for traditional figure painting and winner of the 2014 Director’s Award at the Springville Museum of Art’s annual Spring Salon. Mary's art is influenced by nineteenth century painting including John Singer Sargent, the Pre-Raphaelites, and the French Academics as well as contemporary realist academic painting and fashion photography. Her philosophy is to combine the nineteenth century techniques of painting with more modern conceptual ideas, especially regarding how we present ourselves to the world psychologically.

“I am interested in the pressure of perfection that we face in today's social structure. In our current society, we often allow social media to control the expectations of the path our lives should lead. This can lead to a false public identity that is more about display than actual interaction, while hiding one’s true self. I hope to call attention to these new social norms that are impeding our mental ability to reach out to others and allow us to accept both our beauty and imperfections. By placing prescribed expectations on ourselves, we perpetuate inadequacy and block the feelings of gratitude for what we have and are. By comparing our misfortunes to the successes of others we are unfairly keeping ourselves from being truly happy. My paintings call to attention the idea of this image manufacturing by utilizing the figure as an object, rather than a portrait even though the overall composition remains a portrait. This along with other items meant for display as seen in homes and stores creates a composition blocked-in with tight drawing and form, painterly strokes and careful attention to color harmonies. These elements allow me to frame the model as a literal item in the storefront or interior design rather than being a telling image of the personality of the sitter. The work is less ambiguous and more literal than mainstream modern art, as I portray my subject matter in a naturalistic manner. This is slowly transitioning to even more literal narrative as I further explore the language and stories of my subjects. My goal is to bridge the gap between conceptual art and classically trained figurative paintings and create pieces that use beauty, technical mastery, and a timeless subject matter to convey a symbolic narrative that becomes a visual manifestation of the internal psychological space where perfectionism lives.”

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