Sarah Nolan
Textile Artist / Mixed Media Artist (Enmore NSW)

Referred to as being a “scrounger” Sarah Nolan finds her fabrics, trimmings, beads and sequins from a variety of sources, op shops, sample books, clothes, scarves, tea towels and lengths of fabrics gifted or inherited from friends and relatives. The above descriptor is doubly appropriate as it refers to the physical material she uses to construct her works as well as the conceptual material she refers to when sourcing form. These assemblages are more than collages of found objects, but can be seen to release the potential of the material. The nature of the work is intimate, subtle, personal and intriguing, through the use of the familiar.

Text and statements also play an important provocative role in her work and will continue to be the focus and the means of exploring observations, thoughts and ideas. The meticulous nature of these additions a result of her patient and precise cutting skills where her past experience as a graphic designer comes to the fore, when the scalpel was the tool of trade rather than a computer mouse.

Artists Statement
Sarah has been practicing professionally as an artist since her first commercial show in Sydney in 2007. She describes her works as constructed fabric pieces, not patchwork, embroidery or quilting! All the works have been hand sewn and range in postcard size through to curtain sized banners. The richness and detail of these compositions are enhanced by metres of hand stitched silk, cotton and polyester threads. Some of the stitching is discreet and functional in holding the layers together, others playful and illustrative. The frayed fabric edges also contribute to the overall appearance of the works, softening the edges and enhancing the fragility of the pieces.

For information on how to purchase or commission Sarah's work please contact her below.

Contact Sarah Nolan
Visit Sarah Nolan's website


Solo Exhibitions
2010, Rewarded, Harrison Galleries, Sydney
2008, Damien and me, Harrison Galleries, Sydney
2007, Homage, Harrison Galleries, Sydney
2000, Pick-up, West Space Inc., Melbourne
1992, Stuck Down, Gallery Café, Sydney
1991, Some Collages 1989-1991, Arthaus Gallery, South Dowling Street, Sydney

Group Exhibitions
2009, Waiting, NG Art Gallery, Sydney
Art in Mind, The Brick Lane Gallery, London UK
Autumn Equinox Salon, Palm House Gallery, Royal Botanical Gardens, Sydney
Amnesty People’s Choice Art Prize, Tap Gallery, Sydney
2007, Art Melbourne, New Generation exhibitor Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne
Waverley Art Prize, Waverley Woollahra Arts Centre, Sydney
Marrickville Art Prize, At the Vanishing Point Gallery, Sydney
2006, Absurdities, Horus and Deloris Contemporary Art Space, Sydney
2005, Junk Love, Reverse Garbage, Sydney
2003, Hazelhurst Art on Paper Award, Hazelhurst Regional Gallery & Arts Centre
Liverpool City Art Prize, Casula Powerhouse, Liverpool
Walking the Street, Art in Shop fronts, King Street, Newtown
2001, Art Show, North Newtown Public School, Newtown
1999, Post Postcard Show, Linden Art Centre and Gallery Melbourne
Bound, La Coq Café, Melbourne
1992, Walking the Street, Art in Shop fronts, King Street, Newtown.

Awards
1999, Eckersley’s Arts, Crafts and Imagination Prize (Linden Art Centre)

Collections
Private collections Australia and United Kingdom
All Buttons Great and Small 419A King Street, Newtown, NSW

Publications
Nuance Multimedia Australia, Art Melbourne 07 Catalogue, 2007

Media
The Art Life, New Work Friday #40, February 05, 2010, http://theartlife.com.au/?p=1153.
Walton, Inga, “The art world stitched up”, in Textile Fibre Forum, Issue 2, No. 94, May, 2009, p.12-14.
Fortescue, Elizabeth, “Lessons from master artist”, in The Daily Telegraph, 11 August, 2008.
Hutchinson, Jane, “Arts About” in The Daily Telegraph [Sunday Magazine], October, 2007, p.32-34.
Skelly, Susan, “New Wave” [‘Recharge’], in The Bulletin, 24 April, 2007, p. 64.
Iaccarino, Clara, “Open Gallery” in The Sydney Morning Herald , 24-25 February, 2007, p.16