My work is about human relationships and the things we say and don’t say. Using a variety of media, I prod the motives and feelings that are often left unsaid but can weigh heavily on friendships, romantic relationships, and encounters with strangers. The works, intentionally open for speculation, have a suggestive quality, hinting at the situations from which they arise and calling on the viewer to engage with the subjects. With each new viewer, a new relationship is realized, the one between the viewer and the subjects.
In a world that depends increasingly on the technological, the digital, and the virtual, I am confounded by the social repercussions of these media and am committed to rebelling against that by embracing my reality as human, imperfect. My work is conceptual and handmade; it is about communicating ideas while never letting viewers forget the hand behind the mind. I use the naïve quality of my line to complement the content of my work. By omitting details and eschewing perfection, I am able to communicate ideas faster and more directly. Making and revising marks in Sharpie, ink, or drypoint doesn’t allow for total erasure. All of my mistakes are left on the page or wall, giving history to the pieces. The imperfections betray the process. My work reveals my obsessions with process and tactility, recording and remembrance.
EDUCATION:
MFA, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY
MFA, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL (half)
BA, Barnard College, New York, NY
SOLO EXHIBITIONS:
2018
Sara Zielinski: Prints from This Doll’s House, Childs Gallery, Boston, MA
2017
Mama’s Birthday, Pantocrátor Gallery, Suzhou, China
2016
Saudade, National Parliamentary Library, Tblisi, Georgia; Renaissance Hotel, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Zakim Center, Boston, MA (collaboration with Karen Lee Sobol)
2015
This is Just to Say, Find & Form, Boston, MA
Only in Heaven, 282 East 7th Street, New York, NY
2014
New Works by Sara Zielinski, OKW, Boston, MA
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS:
2021
Sex Ed, Holly & The Neighbors, Chicago, IL (upcoming)
What Stands Before Us: Art in Quarantine, Childs Gallery, Boston, MA (upcoming)
2020
At Home, Childs Gallery, Boston, MA
2019
Published by the Artist, IPCNY, New York, NY
Ink Miami Art Fair, with Childs Gallery (Boston), Miami, FL
Real: the world as we see it, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
2018
Ideas Get Dressed, Sapar Contemporary, New York, NY
Life is a Beautiful Place: A Radical Collaboration, Childs Gallery, Boston, MA
Ghost in the Machine, Shoestring Press, Brooklyn, NY
WILD!, Shoestring Press, Brooklyn, NY
No Place Like Home, Mosesian Center for the Arts, Watertown, MA
Shoestring Salon, Shoestring Press, Brooklyn, NY
2017
HOME, Hebrew Union College, New York, NY
The Nude in Print, Childs Gallery, Boston, MA
2016
We Like It So Much, Childs Gallery, Boston, MA
Ink Miami Art Fair, with Childs Gallery (Boston), Miami, FL
2015
The Annual Exhibition: Prints and Drawings, Childs Gallery, Boston, MA
18 Mangers, 282 East 7th Street, New York
USEA City Hall Exhibition, Scollay Square Gallery, Boston, MA
Ink Miami Art Fair, with Childs Gallery (Boston), Miami, FL
2014
Community Colors, Harriet Tubman Gallery, Boston, MA
Ink Miami Art Fair, with Childs Gallery (Boston), Miami, FL
Folk, Gallery 263, Cambridge, MA
Under the Influence of Fluxus, Mobius, Cambridge, MA
Fifth Annual Small Works Show, OKW, Boston, MA
30 Under 30, Arsenal Center for the Arts, Watertown, MA
Proof of Purchase, Samsøn Gallery, Boston, MA
Wish You Were Here 13, A.I.R. Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2012
Portrait Show: 32 Interpretations of the Portrait, Gallery 263, Cambridge, MA
Sweet Fuckups & Happy Accidents, Shoestring Press, Brooklyn, NY
Crest Fest 2012, Crest Hardware & Urban Garden Center, Brooklyn, NY
6x6x2012, Rochester Center for Contemporary Art, Rochester, NY
Choices, 41 W 87, New York, NY
Spring Small Works Exhibition, Blick, New York, NY
Small Works Salon, The Greenpoint Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
30 Under 30, Arsenal Center for the Arts, Watertown, MA
Proof of Purchase, Samsøn Gallery, Boston, MA
2011
The Expanded Print, LeRoy Neiman Gallery, New York, NY
Wish You Were Here 11, A.I.R. Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
RESIDENCIES:
2021
borders boundaries un|belonging, Holly & the Neighbors, Chicago, IL
Sex Ed, Holly & the Neighbors, Chicago, IL
2020
Singing on a Sinking Ship AIR, Black Widow Books, Chicago, IL
2017
Copy Shop Residency, Endless Editions, New York, NY
Pan Stage Artist in Residence, Pantocrátor Gallery, Suzhou, China
2016-2017
Artist in Residence, Inside Out Museum, Beijing, China
Artist in Residence, The Learning Project Elementary School, Boston, MA
PROJECTS:
2021
Brushes with Cancer, Chicago, IL
Abolitionist Deck, New Orleans, LA
2019
Coloring Book for Court, in collaboration with New Sanctuary Coalition, New York, NY
Soapply Artists Series
real: the world we see it, MFA Open Studios, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago IL (curatorial)
ideal: the world as we want it, MFA Open Studios, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL (curatorial)
2018
Drawing from an Anatomy Book, StART Up Art Fair, San Francisco, CA
2017
This Doll’s House, Ink Miami Art Fair, with Childs Gallery (Boston), Miami, FL
2016-2018
The Boston Drawing Project, Carroll and Sons, Boston, MA
2016
Artists for Political Sanity, founder and participating artist, across the United States
So Close to Home, Hallway Hijack, 66 Rockwell, Brooklyn, NY (collaboration with Abby Walworth, curated by Brooklyn Rail Curatorial Projects)
Teddy Bear Picnic, Carroll Park Barrels, Brooklyn, NY
Tekoá, Brooklyn, NY (collaboration with Connor Stankard)
What’s in a Label, PYPO.com
PRESS:
2018
Sapar Contemporary Explores the Creative Process of Fashion, by Michael Wolf, Art Zealous. 28 March 2018
Audrey Hepburn’s Granddaughter is Venturing into the Fashion World, by Alexandra Whittaker, InStyle.com. 26 March 2018
Audrey Hepburn’s Granddaughter Unveils Curated Fashion Exhibit, by Sarah Spellings, The Cut, New York Magazine. 22 March 2018
The Childs Gallery: A Doll’s House, by Candace Reyes, Artistry Magazine. 21 February 2018
2017
Miami Art Week Day 2: Ink Miami and Scope, by John W. Arvanitis, The Take Magazine. 8 December 2017
2016
Artists for Political Sanity: An Anti-Trump Artist Collective, by Taylor Dafoe, Blouin ArtInfo. 4 October 2016
Carroll Park “Trashed” by Local Artists, Pardon Me For Asking. 14 May 2016
Corridors of Power, by James S. Kunen, Columbia Magazine. September 2016
Rustavi 2. 24 March 2016 (television clip)
Saudade, Pirveli Arxi. 24 March 2016 (television clip)
2015
How Can I Show My Work If a Gallery Won’t?, by Sara Estes, Burnaway: The Voice of Art in the South. 7 September 2015
Art Talk: Sara Zielinski, by Richard Baiano, The StyleBoston Blog. 22 June 2015
Sara Zielinski Interviews Sara Zielinski, by Sara Zielinski, The Huffington Post Blog. 4 March 2015
