Sarah Van Dusen

Home: Toronto, ON
Title: Self Portrait With Black Eye
Media: Oil paint on paper
Dimensions: 30 x 30 cm
Website: sarahvandusen.com

Artist Statement

From cave paintings to present day contemporary artwork, humanity has had a fundamental need to record our experiences. Throughout my art making practice I have always been interested in what aspects of our lives we choose to document. There are countless images captured of the seemingly mundane moments of human existence that only give us a small piece of a much larger story.

Creating a self portrait is an event to the artist that involves the act of critically observing and revealing how we see ourselves. It opens us up our deepest questions about who we are and how we see the world. In this small intimate self portrait I examine the current state of my life, with the focus on my injured eye. I look down and inward towards myself in a moment of introspection and vulnerability. Through the act of translating these moments into paint I allow myself to gain insight of not only my physical state but also emotional state.

Biography

Sarah Van Dusen is an artist from Toronto, Ontario. She graduated from Centennial College Fine Arts Studio Program in 2012 and received the Faculty Scholarship Award. Sarah continued her education at OCADU earning a BFA in Drawing and Painting. From 2011-2015 Sarah designed and implemented multiple mural projects in the Scarborough area as part of Street Art Toronto’s initiative to beautify the City. Since graduation she has participated in numerous group exhibitions, curated shows and taught art to seniors. Her most recent body of work focuses on revealing the beauty in the paradoxical banality of life.

Education
BFA, Ontario College of Art and Design University – 2012-2016
Fine Arts Diploma, Fine Arts, Centennial College – 2010-2012
Teaching North York Seniors Centre – 2017 – 2018

Exhibitions
Delisle Space – Fresh Meat – 2018
E11even – Silent Auction – 2018
Yonge and Dundas Square – Digital Exhibition – 2018
OCADU – The Big Draw – 2018
Gladstone Hotel – Why the @#&! Do You Paint?: All The Colours – 2017
Red Head Gallery – Who Are You? – Nuit Blanche – 2017
North York Seniors Centre – Hendon Ave Gallery – 2017
Mercedes-Benz Canada – 2017
Neighbourhood Gallery – The Human Condition Revealed – 2016
Black Cat Gallery – Salon of Inclusiveness – 2016
Gladstone Hotel – Why the @#&! Do You Paint?: Go Figure – 2016
Magnotta Winery – 2016
Neilson Park Creative Centre – Emerging Artists – 2016
Neilson Park Creative Centre – Impact – 2016
Mercedes-Benz Financial Institute – Experiencing Perspectives – 2016