Sarah-Jane Szikora, B. County Durham. 1971. “My objective is to find the common thread that connects us and I hope that empathy is at the heart of my work”
In life, we are lucky if we find our true calling. Sarah-Jane discovered hers in hospital aged four. With one eye bandaged following surgery, there was a crayon in her hand and despite the obvious handicap she was drawing pictures.
Encouraged by her English mother and Hungarian father, Sarah-Jane attended Harrogate and Cleveland Art Colleges, specializing in illustration and has worked as a freelance artist since 1991.
Exaggerated figures feature as the main subjects in the artwork created by Sarah-Jane. Each painting offers an insight to the artist’s world, delivered with a quirkiness and wit that makes Sarah-Jane’s work instantly recognizable.
Commenting on her fat and thin figures she says, “There is an obsession in our society about appearance; everyone is on a diet or opting for cosmetic improvements: “Why is it we dislike ourselves so much?”
She should know, after living with an eating disorder from her teens to her early thirties, there was plenty to consider. Despite finally leaving this unhappy condition behind, the legacy of that disorder is plainly visible right through her art, the distorted bodies, tiny heads, a deep fascination for food and our relationship with it.
At first glance, Sarah-Jane’s art can appear care-free but scratch the veneer and you soon discover that her work offers a thoughtfulness about the human condition that first appearances betray. Difficult personal experiences such as her mother’s dementia and her own long term sight problems have also been examined.
“My objective is to find the common thread that connects us and I hope that empathy is at the heart of my work”
Galleries across the UK and overseas have supported Sarah-Jane’s art; it has also been successfully exhibited in solo shows, reproduced as limited edition prints, books, sculpture, Royal Worcester ceramics and more.
Sarah-Jane Szikora Website
Gallery
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