“There seems to be a vacuous spiritual sense in our society.” — Sabra Crockett
Artist, Sabra Crockett
Artists have painted nature and animals since the cave paintings at Lascaux, France. Those early renderings are documents of time: season by season, lifetime by lifetime, they are the first recorded history; but over the ages of time artists moved away from sociology and began capturing the complex beauty of other species as a means of expressing a reverence for nature. Art was also used to recognize the divine, and the natural world was often where they found it.
These paintings by Sabra Crockett are well-observed studies of specific birds, but they are placed in specific, idiosyncratic visual context for the purpose of conjuring a spiritual connection. The artist explains:
"Deception" by Sabra Crockett, 8x10in, acrylic and metal leaf on canvas (2017)
“My goal is to be a mechanism for shifting people's awareness towards nature. I believe that we have become disassociated with nature, therefore becoming disassociated with ourselves. There seems to be a vacuous spiritual sense in our society. Religion has become a sense of identity, rather than a transcendent self-discovery, and tuning into the higher self. Personally, connecting with nature has always been my way of connecting to the divine. Now I feel that our beautiful parks, wildlife, and habitats are being threatened even more. It feels like an assault these days. So I focus on imagery for people to create a connection with our natural world in hopes there will be a connection within themselves.”
"Exaltation" by Sabra Crockett, 12x12in, acrylic metal leaf venetian plaster on board (2017)
In January 2017, Crockett was a recipient of a Great Meadows Foundation Professional Development Grant, and currently is a participant in Gridworks Revisited, Lexington, KY. She will open a solo show on March 31 at Downtown Pilates, Louisville, KY, and will be included in SALON International, in New York City April 12 -16. Summer will bring exhibits at Dragon King's Daughter in May, and at Evolving Gallery in June, both in Louisville.
Hometown: Rochester, New York
Age: 43
Education: BFA, Rochester Institute of Technology
Website: http://www.sabralynne.com
"Judgement" by Sabra Crockett, 10x8in, acrylic and copper leaf on canvas (2016)
"Pride" by Sabra Crockett, 8x10in, acrylic and plaster on canvas (2016)
"Balance" by Sabra Crockett, 8x10in, acrylic and metal leaf on canvas (2017)
Written by Keith Waits. Entire contents copyright © 2017 Louisville Visual Art. All rights reserved.
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