
Sarah Smelser
Two Weeks in ABQ: Viita, 2019

"Two Weeks In ABQ: Viita" is one of two lithographs Sarah Smelser made as a visiting …

Sarah Smelser is a printmaker known for her abstract monotypes. Her works often allude episodes in Smelser’s own life, as well as both the natural and manmade world, but the references are oblique at best; instead, Smelser says that her work is motivated by a material curiosity and excitement. Her prints characteristically feature simple shapes that are either solid and imposing or thinly hashed and delicate; as Smelser describes, “different types of shapes have fallen into favor at different times in my life.” Throughout much of her career, she employed a strictly limited palette of black, yellow, and red, though she has made more recent exceptions.


"Two Weeks In ABQ: Viita" is one of two lithographs Sarah Smelser made as a visiting artist at Tamarind Institute. The imagery is layered, including old road maps of the Albuquerque region, idiosyncratic symbols, and an image of the artists' father in silhouette - a personal North Star. The colors …

Sarah Smelser is a printmaker known for her abstract monotypes. Her works often allude episodes in Smelser’s own life, as well as both the natural and manmade world, but the references are oblique at best; instead, Smelser says that her work is motivated by a material curiosity and excitement. Her prints characteristically feature simple shapes that are either solid and imposing or thinly hashed and delicate; as Smelser describes, “different types of shapes have fallen into favor at different times in my life.” Throughout much of her career, she employed a strictly limited palette of black, yellow, and red, though she has made more recent exceptions.