Sara Cwynar

Sara Cwynar

BornNationalityBased In
2020CanadianBrooklyn
Biography

Sara Cwynar works with photography, installation and film, using these mediums to digest the way in which desire is cultivated within capitalist society. Working to tackle ‘soft misogyny’ (casual, everyday sexism that goes unnoticed), Cwynar frequently works with collage to unearth the historical dominance and seduction of images. Working with two-dimensional collaged materials and female models, Cwynar commonly brings these components together in the photography studio. Models wearing couture garments are photographed with a Cezanne or a Reubens painting behind them. To shift the image away from an editorial fashion context, tongue and cheek elements are added to the mix. Cwynar’s models hold up illustrations of cartoon female figures against their own bodies for example. Their physical limbs entangle with fleshy Renaissance torsos behind them and the hyper-feminine drawn silhouettes prefacing these models. Bizarrely, these distinct beauty standards meet in one frame, revealing the fickle nature of attraction. Sitting within kitsch aesthetics, the hyperbolic character of Cwynar’s work does give her installations a humorous tone, yet they undoubtedly unsettle power dynamics propagated by beauty standards. Through these processes, Cwynar is able to disentangle desire from consumption, carving space for less regimented ideals and honest portrayals of femininity. ...

Selected Artworks
Contemporary Floral Arrangement - #144551 () #2 The Relationship is a Matter of Style
Sara Cwynar
Contemporary Floral Arrangement - #144551 () #2 The Relationship is a Matter of Style, 1967
152.4 x 111.8cm
Rose Gold
Tracy (Gold Circle)
Sara Cwynar
Tracy (Gold Circle), 2017
76.2 x 96.5cm
Red Rose II
Sara Cwynar
Red Rose II, 2020
76.2 x 61cm
Louis Vuitton Jeff Koons Da Vinci Bag, Pink Model
Sara Cwynar
Louis Vuitton Jeff Koons Da Vinci Bag, Pink Model, 2023
76.2 x 91.4cm
Contemporary Floral Arrangement - #144551 () #2 The Relationship is a Matter of Style
Sara Cwynar
Contemporary Floral Arrangement - #144551 () #2 The Relationship is a Matter of Style, 1967
152.4 x 111.8cm
Tracy in Camo
Sara Cwynar
Tracy in Camo, 2023
76.2 x 91.4cm
Ruby on Film Set in Western Costume
Sara Cwynar
Ruby on Film Set in Western Costume, 2023
76.2 x 61cm
Pamela as Pamela
Sara Cwynar
Pamela as Pamela, 2023
76.2 x 99.1cm
Western Costume Los Angeles: Jacket (Cheerleader), Pregnancy Pad, Jacket (Band), Showgirl (Trunks, ’s)
Sara Cwynar
Western Costume Los Angeles: Jacket (Cheerleader), Pregnancy Pad, Jacket (Band), Showgirl (Trunks, ’s), 1950
86.4 x 64.8cm
Louis Vuitton Jeff Koons Da Vinci Bag, Pink Model
Sara Cwynar
Louis Vuitton Jeff Koons Da Vinci Bag, Pink Model, 2023
76.2 x 91.4cm
Western Costume Los Angeles: Suit (1780’s, Men’s)
Sara Cwynar
Western Costume Los Angeles: Suit (1780’s, Men’s), 2023
86.4 x 64.8cm
Tracy (Pink Grid Look Down)
Sara Cwynar
Tracy (Pink Grid Look Down), 2017
76.2 x 96.52cm
Virginia from SSENSE.com in the Pink Rose Prada Skirt 2
Sara Cwynar
Virginia from SSENSE.com in the Pink Rose Prada Skirt 2, 2020
76.2 x 61cm
Glass Life
Tracy (Moschino)
Sara Cwynar
Tracy (Moschino), 2017
76.2 x 96.5cm
Flower with Digital Sky iii
Sara Cwynar
Flower with Digital Sky iii, 2021
76.8 x 61.6cm
Tracy (Pink Grid Look Up)
Sara Cwynar
Tracy (Pink Grid Look Up), 2017
76.2 x 96.5cm
BOOM
Sara Cwynar
BOOM, 2020
118.1 x 95.2cm
Ali from SSENSE.com (Something's Got to Give)
Sara Cwynar
Ali from SSENSE.com (Something's Got to Give), 2020
118.1 x 92.7cm
Me and Christina II
Sara Cwynar
Me and Christina II, 2019
Virginia from SSENSE.com in the Pink Rose Prada Skirt
Sara Cwynar
Virginia from SSENSE.com in the Pink Rose Prada Skirt, 2020
76.2 x 61cm
Simon’s Legs
Sara Cwynar
Simon’s Legs, 2020
76.2 x 61cm
Tobacco Silk 1 (Ceramic Art)
Sara Cwynar
Tobacco Silk 1 (Ceramic Art), 2020
76.2 x 61cm
Ali from SSENSE.com (How to Marry a Millionaire)
Sara Cwynar
Ali from SSENSE.com (How to Marry a Millionaire), 2020
76.2 x 61cm
Tobacco Silk 2 (Ceramic Art, Women’s Wrestling League)
Sara Cwynar
Tobacco Silk 2 (Ceramic Art, Women’s Wrestling League), 2020
76.2 x 86.4cm
96 Pictures of Sophie 1, 2 and 3
Sara Cwynar
96 Pictures of Sophie 1, 2 and 3, 2019
120.7 x 286.8cm
Rococo Ferrari
Sara Cwynar
Rococo Ferrari, 2024
183.5 x 129.5 x 5cm
Bridge Imports, 26 w 17th st. NYC, NY
Sara Cwynar
Bridge Imports, 26 w 17th st. NYC, NY, 2024
63 x 78.5 x 4cm
Gallery Representation
Awards
Sobey Art Award2020
Sobey Art Award2020
Baloise Art Prize2016
Baloise Art Prize2016
Biennals
Sao Paolo Biennial2018 - São Paulo
Sao Paolo Biennial2018 - São Paulo
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