Artist: Sarah Kennedy Irwin | Location: Rock Hill, SC
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Artist: Sarah Kennedy Irwin | Location: Rock Hill, SC
Rock Hill, SC
Sarah Irwin employs bold line-work, enhanced exaggerated color and pattern in her paintings in an attempt to reach something beyond outward appearances—the supra-real presence of things. History and memory are important ideas that she negotiates with in her work. Objects, faces and sacred story are all subjects that she seeks to translate in this way.
Her most recent works pair objects with pattern. The objects in these compositions are memory keys. By re-engaging with the relics and artifacts of the past, she is recognizing and elevating these items to icons of history and memory. The patterns of fabric swatches—many of which were woven right here in the cotton mills of Rock Hill, SC, possess a dual meaning. Being made up of various separate threads, yet coming together to create a solid beautiful object—the fabrics act as a metaphor of our shared human experience in community and the comfort of being known.