
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 Remai Modern, Saskatoon; The Guggenheim Museum, New York; LACMA, Los Angeles; Museum of Modern Art; the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum; Milwaukee Art Museum; Oakville Galleries; Minneapolis Institute of Art; Museum für Moderne Kunst; the Fondazione Prada; and MoMA PS1, among others, and international galleries including The Approach, London; Foxy Production, New York; Cooper Cole, Toronto; Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York, 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
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
Video Index for Exhibition “Apple” Toronto
Video Index for Exhibition "Apple" Toronto, 2022
Video Installation
Unique
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
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
Ambassadors, Animals Apples III
Ambassadors, Animals Apples III, 2022
Collage on archival pigment print mounted to sintra and Plexiglas
Framed
Sara Cwynar
Doll Index 1, 1779-1950
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
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
Rolex Oyster Perpetual Day-Date (fake) from perfectrolex.io, 2022
Archival pigment print
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Framed
Sara Cwynar
Pantyhose
Pantyhose - Nude, Suntan, Yellow, 2022
Collage on archival pigment print mounted to sintra and Plexiglass
Framed
Sara Cwynar
Peony I
Peony I, 2022
Archival pigment print
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Framed
Sara Cwynar
Peony II
Peony II, 2022
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
Fawn (Protection from Predators)
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
Apple Red/Grass Green/Sky Blue, 2022
Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, USA
Sara Cwynar
Source, Remai Modern
Source, Remai Modern, 2021
Saskatoon, Canada
Sara Cwynar
Off the Record, The Guggenheim
Off the Record, The Guggenheim, 2021
New York, USA
Sara Cwynar
Fawn (Protection from Predators)
Fawn (Protection from Predators), 2020
Archival pigment print
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Sara Cwynar
Guts
Guts, 2020
Archival pigment print
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Sara Cwynar
Sahara from SSENSE.com with Swimmers from TurboSquid.com
Sahara from SSENSE.com with Swimmers from TurboSquid.com, 2020
Archival pigment print
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Sara Cwynar
Oops (Tools of Power)
Oops (Tools of Power), 2020
Archival pigment print
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Sara Cwynar
Gilded Age II
Gilded Age II at The Polygon Gallery, 2019
Vancouver, Canada
Sara Cwynar
Hands (Photographed by Graphics Studio, Milwaukee)
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)
Hands II (Photographed by Graphics Studio, Milkwaukee), 2019
Archival pigment print mounted to dibond
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Sara Cwynar
Board Room (Photographed by Graphics Studio, Milwaukee)
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)
Tracy (Rupt, Meaning Break Burst), 2017
Dye sublimation print on aluminium
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Sara Cwynar
Tracy (Pink Grid Look Up)
Tracy (Pink Grid Look Up), 2017
Pigment print mounted on Dibond
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Sara Cwynar
Tracy (Pink Grid Look Down)
Tracy (Pink Grid Look Down), 2017
Pigment print mounted on Dibond
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Sara Cwynar
Tracy (Red Roses)
Tracy (Red Roses), 2017
Dye sublimation on aluminium
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Sara Cwynar
Tracy (Moschino)
Tracy (Moschino), 2017
Dye sublimation print on aluminium
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Sara Cwynar
Ultra Cosmetics (Nail Polish Forty Fabulous Shades)
Ultra Cosmetics (Nail Polish Forty Fabulous Shades), 2018
Archival pigment print
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Sara Cwynar
Yellow Grid
Yellow Grid, 2017
Pigment print mounted on Dibond
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
Royalty Diamond Display No. 25
Royalty Diamond Display No. 25, 2016
Archival inkjet print
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Sara Cwynar
Deluxe All Star Display No.45
Deluxe All Star Display No.45, 2016
Archival inkjet print
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Sara Cwynar
Three Hands
Three Hands, 2016
Sublimation print
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Sara Cwynar
Hands (Re-enactment)
Hands (Re-enactment), 2016
Archival inkjet print
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Sara Cwynar
Hand Model (Kodak)
Hand Model (Kodak), 2016
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Sara Cwynar
You Never Look at Me From The Place I See You 2
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
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
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
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
Sara Cwynar
Business Trip 1 (Handshake)
Business Trip 1 (Handshake), 2016
Archival inkjet print
Edition of 3, 2 AP
Sara Cwynar
Business Trip 2 (Measurement)
Business Trip 2 (Measurement), 2016
Archival inkjet print
Edition of 3, 2 AP