Sarah BRAYER

Born: 1957 in Rochester, New York

Medium: Aquatint, Etching, Lithograph and Washi Paperwork

Sarah Brayer is best known for poured washi paperworks and editioned aquatint prints. Aquatint is a variety of etching, with soft tonal areas. In both media, her emphasis is on creating a sense of atmosphere- a steamy Japanese ofuro bath, the splashing waters of a waterfall, or the moon shrouded in misty clouds.

A Cum Laude graduate in Studio Art at Connecticut College, Sarah studied printmaking in London and went to Japan in 1979 to learn woodcuts at the Toshi Yoshida Atelier.  Since then, she has been living in Kyoto, with periodic work stays in Imadate and New York City.

With papemaking, Sarah creates an image at the same time as the paper. She will often combine that with brush painting, collage and, aquatint to create the final unique piece. Poured washi is quite painterly and a free, loose medium, which can be done on a much larger scale than intaglio. Recently she has added photo-luminescent pigments to some works for an added look.

A well-established and internationally acclaimed artist, in 1992 Sarah became the first person to ever exhibit at Kyoto’s twelve hundred-year-old Byodoin Temple.  In 2007 she was the cover artist for the prestigious CWAJ Print Show in Tokyo. And in June 2013, she was awarded the Chokan Hyosho (Commissioner’s Award) by Japan’s Minisrty of Culture, for making Japanese culture better known internationally, with her original creations in washi 2014-2015 special exhibits at Asian Art Museum, SF and, Castellani Art Museum, New York.

Collections:

British Museum, London
R. J. Reynolds, Tokyo

Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian
Oregon Art Institute, Portland

University of Rochester Art Gallery
University Hospitals, Cleveland

Caraccio Collection, New York
US State Department, Washington, DC

American College Board, New York
Rutgers University Art Museum

American Embassy, Tokyo
Citibank, Tokyo

The Bank of Tokyo, Hong Kong
Newark Public Library

US Library of Congress
Johnson Museum, Cornell NY

Smith Museum
Worcester Museum

Solo Exhibitions:

Los Angeles

Rochester, New York

Tokyo, Japan

Kyoto Dohanga Kyokai

Bodega Bay, California

Group Exhibitions:

Portland Art Institute

Rutgers University

CWAJ Print Show, Tokyo

Franklin & Marshall Coll.

Japan Print Association, Tokyo

video of Sarah discussing her photoluminescent work

Below is a link to a video of Sarah discussing her photoluminescent work: http//talentsearch.ted.com/video/Sarah-Brayer-Creating-luminesce;TEDTokyo