The Spotlight June 12, 2009

In today’s Spotlight meet La Crosse artist Sarah Bina.  Much of Sarah’s art is self portraiture and is heavily influenced by the German and Austrian expressionists of the early 20th Century who expressed pain through color, stark contrasts, grotesque and exaggerated figures, faces, and forms.  A head injury a couple years ago left Sarah with chronic severe Fibromyalgia and memory problems.  Having lost the ability to do many of the things she once loved, such as hiking and camping, her most recent works of art mirror the many emotions that are pent up inside her and are a means of expressing her most inner feelings.

Although she works in different mediums, her favorite is oil paint.  She likes the physical texture and quality of the paint and tends to use only four or five vivid colors supplemented with their color combinations.

She describes her work as “vivid,” not only referring to color, but also referring to the depiction of the subject matter.  She says “color, uncomfortable or shocking subject matter, materials, and application techniques contribute to a vivid or memorable image.”

Sarah, a La Crosse native, is a senior at Viterbo University and is working to complete degrees in studio art and art education.  Sarah currently has an exhibit titled “X-Rays” at  the Todd Wehr Memorial Library Gallery at Viterbo University.  The show is there now and runs through this summer.  For gallery hours contact the library at 796-3269.

To see her painting “Green Jewel Faced Reclining Nude” click on the “Local Area Artists” box below, and as long as you’re there take the full slide show tour.