When we asked Sarah Braman which artists have influenced her work, her response came with a preface: “I can edit down.” That’s what being an active New York-based artist and the co-owner of the artist-driven gallery CANADA does; it defines a practice built just as much out of community as time spent alone in the studio.
Marked by their pleasing color combinations and precise modularity, Braman’s sculptures bring to mind many of the artists she cited. At her most recent show, at Mitchell-Innes & Nash, a camper van had been sliced and positioned on its side, evoking Gordon Matta-Clark’s arbitrary cuts through buildings and drywall. A bluish plexiglass cube attached to another slab of camper van nearby brought to mind Rita Ackermann’s palette and gestural touch. John Chamberlain’s colorful assemblages would have been an ideal partner for the spartan piece of particleboard Braman spray-painted with blobs of blue, purple and green.
The exhibition was something of a watershed moment for Braman, who’s arguably had a few over the last couple years. In addition to being picked up by the blue chip gallery, she’s had solo shows at International Art Objects (LA), MACRO (Rome), Museum 52, and the Institut d’Art Moderne in Paris.
In addition to being an artist to watch, she’s also an artist whose values should be extolled. When asked what advice she would give her younger self, she responded simply, “have faith and tell the truth.” Even more inspiring were the words she shared about her husband and co-owner of CANADA, Phil Grauer. “I sometimes feel like it’s cheating to have Phil as a partner in sculpture,” Braman told us, describing Grauer as a touchstone to all her work. Would that all our lives could be filled with relationships
as fulfilling. [Q and A and slideshow, after the jump.]
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