About
Sarah Marks (b. 2001) is an American painter born and raised in Missouri. Growing up in a military family in the heart of the United States, she was shaped by the dynamics of rural communities and the nuances of being Asian-American in predominantly white, conservative environments. Her work explores the tension between national identity and personal belonging, examining what it means to be both an “ideal” American and to navigate the experience of being perceived as other. Marks currently lives and works in Chicago, Illinois.
Artist Statement
My work explores the space between being alive and feeling alive. I am drawn to the moments when presence and absence blur. While time passes and memories form, I only feel truly present in reflection. As someone who has depression and disconnection from my past, present, and future selves, painting becomes a meditation on memory and presence.
Many of my compositions appear flat or detached, even when depicting people I know intimately. This intentional stillness reflects the emotional distance I often feel. Just as we humanize inanimate objects through personification, I reverse the gesture by giving the figures in my paintings object-like qualities. Through this, I aim to capture the uneasy tension between intimacy and detachment, existence and emptiness.
Instagram: smarksart