Sara Cwynar (b. 1985, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) is interested in the way that images accumulate, endure, and change in value over time. Her conceptual photographs and films involve constant archiving and re-presentation of collected visual materials, layering diverse imagery with references to art theory. The works intricately recall advertisements, retail catalogues, and old art history textbooks. Her visual assemblages meditate on how vernacular images shape collective world views, and how those ideals can change through time and contextual manipulation.
Cwynar was one of the recipients of the 2020 Sobey Art Award, the 2020 Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Award, and the 2021 Shpilman Photography Prize. She earned her Bachelor of Design from York University in 2010 and her MFA from Yale University in 2016. In 2014, she was awarded the Printed Matter Emerging Artists Publication Series and published her first monograph, entitled Kitsch Encyclopedia, with Blonde Art Books. A monograph of Cwynar’s work, entitled Glass Life, was published in 2021 by Aperture with the Remai Modern.
Cwynar has exhibited at international museums including the ICA Boston, Boston; ICA Los Angeles, LACMA, Los Angeles; Remai Modern, Saskatoon; The Guggenheim Museum, MoMA PS1, Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield; Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee; Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis; Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery at the University of the Arts, Philadelphia Oakville Galleries, Oakville; Polygon Gallery, Vancouver; Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt; the Fondazione Prada, Milano; and among others. Her work is in the permanent collections museums including the Guggenheim Museum,New York; SFMoMA, San Francisco; Centre Pompidou, Paris, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto; The National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas; Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis; Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee; and the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Cwynar currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York, USA.
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Sara Cwynar
Baby Blue Benzo Beta, MOCA Toronto
Baby Blue Benzo Beta, 2026
MOCA, Toronto, Canada
Sara Cwynar
Western Costume, Suit (band), Lt.Blu, Right Shoulder Missing Button; Ferrari from MoMA Collection II; Stocking on Sky; Prop in LA (Strip)
Western Costume, Suit (band), Lt.Blu, Right Shoulder Missing Button; Ferrari from MoMA Collection II; Stocking on Sky; Prop in LA (Strip), 2024
Archival pigment prints and metallic chromogenic prints mounted on Dibond in silkscreen printed artists's frames in five (5) parts
Edition of 3, 2 AP
S.Cwynar0366
Sara Cwynar
Billboard (Tracy Pregnant, Leticia Hand)
Billboard (Tracy Pregnant, Leticia Hand), 2024
Archival pigment prints, metallic chromogenic prints, and laser prints mounted on Dibond
Edition of 3, 2 AP
S.Cwynar0363
Sara Cwynar
Glass Life, National Gallery of Canada
Glass Life, National Gallery of Canada, 2025
Installation view, National Gallery of Canada, 2025. © Sara Cwynar. Photo: NGC
Sara Cwynar
Rococo Ferrari (detail)
Rococo Ferrari (detail), 2025
Chromogenic print
S.Cwynar0350.1
Sara Cwynar
Alphabet, ICA/Boston
Alphabet, 2025
ICA Boston, Boston, USA
Sara Cwynar
Baby Blue Benzo
Baby Blue Benzo, 52 Walker, October 04 – December 21, 2024
Courtesy 52 Walker, New York
Sara Cwynar
Me and Christina II
Me and Christina II, 2020
Digital video, ipad, custom frame
Edition of 3, 2 AP
S.Cwynar0357
Sara Cwynar
Flower on Digital Sky 1
Flower on Digital Sky 1, 2023
Archival pigment print mounted to Dibond
Edition of 3, 2 AP
S.C0348
Sara Cwynar
Flower on TV Screen
Flower on TV Screen, 2023
Archival pigment print mounted to Dibond
Edition of 3, 2 AP
S.C0349
Sara Cwynar
Contemporary Floral Arrangement (#14.551 (1967) a matter of style)
Contemporary Floral Arrangement (#14.551 (1967) a matter of style), 2022
Archival pigment print on premium lustre
Edition of 3, 2 AP
S.C0138
Sara Cwynar
Encyclopedia Grid (Flowers)
Encyclopedia Grid (Flowers), 2024
Archival pigment print mounted to Dibond
S.Cwynar0353.1
Sara Cwynar
Ali from SSENSE (Red)
Ali from SSENSE (Red), 2024
Archival pigment print mounted to Dibond
S.Cwynar0352.1
Sara Cwynar
Peony (Magenta/Red)
Peony (Magenta/Red), 2024
Archival pigment print mounted to Dibond
S.Cwynar0351.1
Sara Cwynar
Western Costume (Bikini, Kelly Green, 1980’s), Sash (Showgirl, Star), Dress (Evening, 1900’s), Capelet (Cardinal)
Western Costume (Bikini, Kelly Green, 1980's), Sash (Showgirl, Star), Dress (Evening, 1900’s), Capelet (Cardinal), 2025
Archival pigment print in silkscreen printed artists frame
S.Cwynar0354.1
Sara Cwynar
Doll Index 1, 1779-1950
Doll Index 1, 1779-1950, 2022
Archival pigment print
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Framed
Sara Cwynar
Apple for Scale (after Steve Jobs)
Apple for Scale (after Steve Jobs), 2022
Archival pigment print
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Framed
Sara Cwynar
Video Index for Exhibition “Apple” Toronto
Video Index for Exhibition "Apple" Toronto, 2022
Video Installation
Unique
Sara Cwynar
Source, Remai Modern
Source, Remai Modern, 2021
Saskatoon, Canada
Sara Cwynar
Apple Red/Grass Green/Sky Blue, Institute of Contemporary Art
Apple Red/Grass Green/Sky Blue, 2022
Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, USA
Sara Cwynar
Fawn (Protection from Predators)
Fawn (Protection from Predators), 2020
Archival pigment print
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Framed
Sara Cwynar
Guts
Guts, 2020
Archival pigment print
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Framed
Sara Cwynar
Tracy (Red Roses)
Tracy (Red Roses), 2017
Dye sublimation on aluminium
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Sara Cwynar
Tracy (Chanel)
Tracy (Chanel), 2017
Dye sublimation print on aluminum mounted on Dibond
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Sara Cwynar
Tracy (Moschino)
Tracy (Moschino), 2017
Dye sublimation print on aluminium
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Sara Cwynar
Tracy (Rupt, Meaning Break Burst)
Tracy (Rupt, Meaning Break Burst), 2017
Dye sublimation print on aluminium
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Sara Cwynar
Yellow Grid
Tracy (Yellow Grid), 2017
Pigment print mounted on Dibond
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Sara Cwynar
Virginia from SSENSE.com in the Pink Rose Prada skirt II
Virginia from SSENSE.com in the Pink Rose Prada skirt II, 2022
Archival pigment print
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Framed
Sara Cwynar
Ambassadors, Apple, Animals I
Ambassadors, Apple, Animals I, 2022
Unique Collage on archival pigment print mounted to sintra and plexiglass
Sara Cwynar
Ambassadors, Apple, Animals II
Ambassadors, Apple, Animals II, 2022
Collage on archival pigment print mounted to sintra
Framed
Sara Cwynar
Gilded Age II
Gilded Age II at The Polygon Gallery, 2019
Vancouver, Canada
Sara Cwynar
Flat Death
Flat Death, 2013
Installation at Cooper Cole, Toronto, Canada.
Sara Cwynar
Pictures of Pens II
Pictures of Pens II, 2016
Chromogenic print
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Sara Cwynar
Pictures of Pencils II
Pictures of Pencils II, 2016
Chromegenic print
Edition of 3, 2 AP
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