Visit the Studio with Sara Galkin

“Chaos is my order,” says artist Sara Galkin of her process and work. We tip our hats to Sara, who is adapting to the worldly chaos with creativity, energy, and a sense of exploration. From a chaotic, messy, joyful process comes beautifully crafted portraits of exactly that, chaos.

Join us as Sara takes us through her temporary studio set up as painter, swimmer, and mother!

What materials do you use? And why?

My preferred medium has been oil on canvas, but quarantine––with limited space and materials on hand––has enabled me to experiment with exciting new materials such as house paint, permanent ink, and acrylics. In my Brooklyn studio, I use a synthetic version of rabbit skin glue to prime my canvases because I like the raw color of the canvas. Currently, I am working with a clear PVC as a base.

New materials are resulting in new ways for me to connect with my art––the expression transcends the moment. The work I am creating now is more explosive. The materials guide the story and each stage helps me understand how to process this time in a more connected, purposeful way.

I am working smaller because the space to create is smaller. I am finding that this smaller space is limiting not only the size of the canvas I work on, but also the way in which I work. Generally I am very messy, getting lost in the moment has always been a fundamental part of my process; I’m often questioned about bruises and cuts on my body which are actually just paint. This freedom of open expression is critical to my practice. In this smaller space, I feel constricted and new work is being produced because of it. This is an interesting and exciting new exploratory phase.

Yet, when I put all my projects together, I am amazed by the connected progression. My art is always evolving and my process has always been about moving forward. I believe that everything informs everything else––I have to let go of what happened yesterday to move forward with today.

What is your artwork about? What does it speak to?

Before quarantine, my routine played an important role in my art. I find that I am happiest and work best when I am physical. For me, chaos is my order. I process things better while I am moving or forced to pay attention to my breathing and the moving elements around me rather than obsessing over my thoughts like: how to bring in more money to the household, making appointments for my 3 kids at three different schools, and making sure they each are getting the attention they deserve––being a parent. When I am not creating, I am lost in these thoughts and overwhelmed by my feelings of purpose. When I am moving, doing, creating... that is all I am doing. My focus is clearer and everything seems to work. The one exception is my meditation practice, which has helped me tap into the space in my mind where everything is connected. When I am creating, I stop actively thinking, my intuition takes control. I am blissfully mindless.

Restricted by my current quarantine studio situation, I am noticing that not being able to move as much––not being able to swim––has most certainly affected my art practice. I’ve always listened to music when I paint––I like ambient noise––idiosyncratic work in electronic styles where I become part of the chaos. I find myself leaning into that even more these days. Bands like Aphex Twin and Black Dice take on musical movement for me, a mental exercise.

For me, creating is chaos as it should be. For me, chaos is the only form of order –– it is how my nature evolves, how any creation manifests in me. I’ve never heard someone say great things happen when you don’t push yourself or your life remains the same; change is how we grow, how we let go and move forward. Right now, we are forced into change –– let’s see how we grow.

What is your typical routine when you get to the studio? Walk us through a typical studio day.

Right now, in quarantine, my studio is two folding tables in the basement of a house in Vermont where I am currently living with my three children. The basement has exposed stone walls and tiny windows. The house was built in the 1700s and my parents bought it in the 80’s and renovated it. It's their house and most everywhere in this house things have a certain place they are expected to stay. It's hard for me to let go and get messy on the main floors, but down in the basement I have carved out some space for myself and my messy practice. There is plenty of house paint stored down there and I brought bottles of colored ink with me when I left the city and my studio. Using the colored ink, I can tint the house paint, mixing colors, without exposing anyone to the toxic oil fumes of my standard practice.

Do you work at a particular size or scale? Why?

My preference is to work in large sizes––over 60”––but when the space is smaller, I scale down. Currently, I am working primarily in the square format ranging from 24”x24” to 40”x40”. The challenge of working in this small, limiting space definitely has some connection to swimming for me, but I am not sure what it is yet exactly. Perhaps it is a safe space to let go. I am always afraid of letting go too much for fear that I can’t come back to reality.

Creativity is my flow, but the rest of my world is constant reminders not to forget where I am supposed to be or what I am supposed to be doing. I always say it’s a slippery slope and without a routine or a wall to make me turn around, I might keep going and never come back.

Which artists most inspire you and your work?

Hans Hofman, Cy Twombly, Lee Krasner & Joan Mitchel.

A quote that I very much connect to by Hoffman is, “Creation is dominated by three absolutely different factors: First, nature, which works upon us by its laws; second, the artist who creates a spiritual contact with nature and his material; third, the medium of expression through which the artists translates his inner world.”

For me, each artist I listed above, their art transcends time and exists in the moment you are relating to them. For me it’s about the feeling they have while they are lost in their work.

Do you balance another job in addition to being an artist?

Yes, in non-pandemic life, I teach swimming and art classes to people of all ages. During the summer I run a visual art program at Camp Ballibay in Pennsylvania - a program for adolescents who are artists. Working with teens, I am reminded of how I felt as a teenager and how, at times, I still feel the same way I felt back then.

Do you have any current or upcoming exhibits? Please share!

Unfortunately, my May 2020 exhibit could not take place because of COVID. It was to feature work I began in the summer of 2018. I started creating large sculptures in a sculpture garden in a private space.

This summer will be my third summer working on the raw sculpture garden that I now feel is an extension of an existing ecosystem. The purpose is to see beauty in every particle, every space everywhere.

In the fall of 2019, when I returned to Brooklyn from my summer of creating art all the time on any surface in any space, I began to understand my artistic philosophy of existing elements. Or understanding that art can be and is all around us, and ‘how I see’ is just that. I found myself creating art everywhere, on tree stumps, hanging recycled materials that I had wrapped to look like a new species was growing. Creating things to leave behind without attempting to trace back to them. Leaving a piece of me sprinkled in places that I traveled to. The purpose is not to go back to them, the purpose is to let them exist and live out their own lives. Giving attention to a corner or a space that expands the space we live in.

When I shared this work with a friend, who is also a gallery owner in Brooklyn, she invited me to create an outdoor sculpture garden as an extension of that sculptural, but work for an urban setting. So for now, this exhibit will be pushed to the other side, whenever that is.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this special peek into Sara's creative environment! Even in a virtual age, we encourage all budding collectors to take the time to connect with the artists you love directly.

We want to remind you of our awesome artist messaging feature directly on the Art in Res site––reach out now and foster that creative energy! Have more questions for Sara on her art and practice? Follow up with her directly via our messenger. We know she’ll be thrilled to answer any questions you might have. Ask about a specific painting or about her specific process in general––either approach works!