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 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; Oakville Galleries, Oakville; Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis; Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt; the Fondazione Prada, Milano; and among others, and international galleries including The Approach, London; Foxy Production, Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York; Cooper Cole, Toronto; M+B Gallery, Los Angeles; and Fluxia Gallery, Milan. 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), Dallas Museum of Art (Dallas), Minneapolis Insitute 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.
Sara Cwynar
Flower on Digital Sky 1
Sara Cwynar – 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
Sara Cwynar – Flower on TV Screen, 2023
Archival pigment print mounted to Dibond
Edition of 3, 2 AP
S.C0349
Sara Cwynar
S/S 23, Foam
Sara Cwynar – S/S 23, Foam, 2023
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Sara Cwynar
Contemporary Floral Arrangement (#14.551 (1967) a matter of style)
Sara Cwynar – 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
Video Index for Exhibition “Apple” Toronto
Sara Cwynar – Video Index for Exhibition “Apple” Toronto, 2022
Video Installation
Unique
Sara Cwynar
Apple for Scale (after Steve Jobs)
Sara Cwynar – Apple for Scale (after Steve Jobs), 2022
Archival pigment print
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Framed
Sara Cwynar
Ambassadors, Apple, Animals I
Sara Cwynar – Ambassadors, Apple, Animals I, 2022
Unique Collage on archival pigment print mounted to sintra and plexiglass
Sara Cwynar
Ambassadors, Apple, Animals II
Sara Cwynar – Ambassadors, Apple, Animals II, 2022
Collage on archival pigment print mounted to sintra
Framed
Sara Cwynar
Ambassadors, Animals Apples III
Sara Cwynar – Ambassadors, Animals Apples III, 2022
Collage on archival pigment print mounted to sintra and Plexiglas
Framed
Sara Cwynar
Doll Index 1, 1779-1950
Sara Cwynar – Doll Index 1, 1779-1950, 2022
Archival pigment print
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Framed
Sara Cwynar
Virginia from SSENSE.com in the Pink Rose Prada skirt II
Sara Cwynar – Virginia from SSENSE.com in the Pink Rose Prada skirt II, 2022
Archival pigment print
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Framed
Sara Cwynar
Rolex Oyster Perpetual Day-Date (fake) from perfectrolex.io
Sara Cwynar – Rolex Oyster Perpetual Day-Date (fake) from perfectrolex.io, 2022
Archival pigment print
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Framed
Sara Cwynar
Pantyhose
Sara Cwynar – Pantyhose – Nude, Suntan, Yellow, 2022
Collage on archival pigment print mounted to sintra and Plexiglass
Framed
Sara Cwynar
Peony I
Sara Cwynar – Peony I, 2022
Archival pigment print
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Framed
Sara Cwynar
Peony II
Sara Cwynar – Peony II, 2022
Archival pigment print
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Framed
Sara Cwynar
Guts
Sara Cwynar – Guts, 2020
Archival pigment print
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Framed
Sara Cwynar
Fawn (Protection from Predators)
Sara Cwynar – Fawn (Protection from Predators), 2020
Archival pigment print
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Framed
Sara Cwynar
Apple Red/Grass Green/Sky Blue, Institute of Contemporary Art
Sara Cwynar – Apple Red/Grass Green/Sky Blue, Institute of Contemporary Art, 2022
Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, USA
Sara Cwynar
Source, Remai Modern
Sara Cwynar – Source, Remai Modern, 2021
Saskatoon, Canada
Sara Cwynar
Off the Record, The Guggenheim
Sara Cwynar – Off the Record, The Guggenheim, 2021
New York, USA
Sara Cwynar
Fawn (Protection from Predators)
Sara Cwynar – Fawn (Protection from Predators), 2020
Archival pigment print
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Sara Cwynar
Guts
Sara Cwynar – Guts, 2020
Archival pigment print
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Sara Cwynar
Sahara from SSENSE.com with Swimmers from TurboSquid.com
Sara Cwynar – Sahara from SSENSE.com with Swimmers from TurboSquid.com, 2020
Archival pigment print
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Sara Cwynar
Oops (Tools of Power)
Sara Cwynar – Oops (Tools of Power), 2020
Archival pigment print
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Sara Cwynar
Gilded Age II
Sara Cwynar – Gilded Age II, 2019
Vancouver, Canada
Sara Cwynar
Hands (Photographed by Graphics Studio, Milwaukee)
Sara Cwynar – Hands (Photographed by Graphics Studio, Milwaukee), 2019
Archival pigment print mounted to dibond
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Sara Cwynar
Hands II (Photographed by Graphics Studio, Milwaukee)
Sara Cwynar – Hands II (Photographed by Graphics Studio, Milwaukee), 2019
Archival pigment print mounted to dibond
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Sara Cwynar
Board Room (Photographed by Graphics Studio, Milwaukee)
Sara Cwynar – Board Room (Photographed by Graphics Studio, Milwaukee), 2019
Archival pigment print mounted to dibond
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Sara Cwynar
Tracy (Rupt, Meaning Break Burst)
Sara Cwynar – Tracy (Rupt, Meaning Break Burst), 2017
Dye sublimation print on aluminium
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Sara Cwynar
Tracy (Pink Grid Look Up)
Sara Cwynar – Tracy (Pink Grid Look Up), 2017
Pigment print mounted on Dibond
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Sara Cwynar
Tracy (Pink Grid Look Down)
Sara Cwynar – Tracy (Pink Grid Look Down), 2017
Pigment print mounted on Dibond
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Sara Cwynar
Tracy (Red Roses)
Sara Cwynar – Tracy (Red Roses), 2017
Dye sublimation on aluminium
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Sara Cwynar
Tracy (Moschino)
Sara Cwynar – Tracy (Moschino), 2017
Dye sublimation print on aluminium
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Sara Cwynar
Ultra Cosmetics (Nail Polish Forty Fabulous Shades)
Sara Cwynar – Ultra Cosmetics (Nail Polish Forty Fabulous Shades), 2018
Archival pigment print
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Sara Cwynar
Yellow Grid
Sara Cwynar – Yellow Grid, 2017
Pigment print mounted on Dibond
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Sara Cwynar
Tracy (Chanel)
Sara Cwynar – Tracy (Chanel), 2017
Dye sublimation print on aluminum mounted on Dibond
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Sara Cwynar
Royalty Diamond Display No. 25
Sara Cwynar – Royalty Diamond Display No. 25, 2016
Archival inkjet print
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Sara Cwynar
Deluxe All Star Display No.45
Sara Cwynar – Deluxe All Star Display No.45, 2016
Archival inkjet print
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Sara Cwynar
Three Hands
Sara Cwynar – Three Hands, 2016
Sublimation print
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Sara Cwynar
Hands (Re-enactment)
Sara Cwynar – Hands (Re-enactment), 2016
Archival inkjet print
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Sara Cwynar
Hand Model (Kodak)
Sara Cwynar – Hand Model (Kodak), 2016
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Sara Cwynar
You Never Look at Me From The Place I See You 2
Sara Cwynar – You Never Look at Me From The Place I See You 2, 2016
Archival inkjet print
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Sara Cwynar
You Never Look at Me From The Place I See You 1
Sara Cwynar – You Never Look at Me From The Place I See You 1, 2016
Archival inkjet print
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Sara Cwynar
You Never Look at Me From The Place I See You 3
Sara Cwynar – You Never Look at Me From The Place I See You 3, 2016
Archival inkjet print
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Sara Cwynar
Flat Death
Sara Cwynar – Flat Death, 2013
Installation at Cooper Cole, Toronto, Canada.
Sara Cwynar
Pictures of Pens II
Sara Cwynar – Pictures of Pens II, 2016
Chromogenic print
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Sara Cwynar
Pictures of Pencils II
Sara Cwynar – Pictures of Pencils II, 2016
Chromegenic print
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Sara Cwynar
Business Trip 1 (Handshake)
Sara Cwynar – Business Trip 1 (Handshake), 2016
Archival inkjet print
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Sara Cwynar
Business Trip 2 (Measurement)
Sara Cwynar – Business Trip 2 (Measurement), 2016
Archival inkjet print
Edition of 3, 2 AP