• ARTIST STATEMENT AND CV

    Sari Zon is a Canadian painter. Her work hangs in private and corporate collections across North America.

    ARTIST STATEMENT:
    I let the experience of creating guide me, beginning with a rough wood panel and finding inspiration in the shapes and patterns the wood imparts. I don’t limit my process to any specific media, preferring to play with all the materials I can find that interest me. My work often encompasses inks, acrylics, vintage papers and fabrics, natural materials, oil sticks, paint markers, charcoal and graphite, grease pencil and pan pastels. I love beeswax and I always find myself coming back to it, although painting with it is so heady and intense that I need to take breaks to work with other, more immediate media. My works explore the beauty of imperfection, ripping and distressing pattern and geometric shapes to explore how it feels to loosen them up. My work is the raw product of my own creative expression that is part rant and part personal meditation.

    ENCAUSTIC WORKS:
    Encaustic painting is a full-body, multi-sensory experience: organic, raw and soulful: alive with the rich scents, gleaming transparency and soft heat of melted beeswax.
    I make my own paints; so I am in control of the process from start to finish, beginning with a visit to a local honey farm to purchase the beeswax. I use a traditional recipe for encaustic paints; combining unbleached beeswax, coloured pigments and damar resin. I apply it in layers; fusing each layer to the one beneath it.
    I work the wax with brushes, irons, fingers and sculpting tools: My creative process is wild and messy; thick with layers of experimentation, failure and success. Encaustic is a versatile medium for modern art, as Beeswax is an excellent binder for inks, oil pastels, papers, found objects, metals and natural matter, and I hide photos, text and drawings in the work, allowing small glimpses to peek through.
    An encaustic painting retains the sweet scent of natural beeswax for many years, and the finished surface remains aglow with warm, multi-layered, richly textured radiance.

    ARTIST CV:

    Arts Education:
    Honours BA: Fine Arts Sudies
    York University, 1994

    2023: Representation at Denison Gallery in Toronto

    Selected Exhibitions
    2014-2016:
    Representation at Denison Gallery in Toronto
    Representation at MJG Gallery in Toronto
    Features on ARTBOMB Daily Art Auction

    2013:
    Representation at MJG Gallery Toronto
    Representation at Canvas Gallery in Toronto
    Queen West Art Crawl, Toronto
    "It's Amazing" Curated Group Show at the Historic Roundhouse in Toronto
    Features on ARTBOMB Daily Art Auction
    "Just My Type" Group Show at #Hashtag Gallery Toronto
    Totum on King Gallery Space
    Paintings on Display on the 2nd floor screen at the Saatchi Gallery in London

    2011-2012
    Sunnyside Beach Juried Art Show & Sale, Toronto
    in2art Little Show, Oakville
    The Riverdale Art Walk 2011, Toronto
    2-artist show, A Mano Libera Gallery, St. Catharines
    Representation at in2art Gallery in Oakville
    Representation at Koyman Galleries in Ottawa
    Representation at Gallery 133 in Toronto

    2009-2010
    "Lust" Group Show: Beverly Owens Project, Toronto
    The Little Art Show: Hangman Gallery, Toronto
    "Love" Group Show: 918 Bathurst Arts Centre, Toronto
    Queen West Art Crawl 2009, Toronto
    Square Foot Show: AWOL Gallery, Toronto
    "In The Art": ARTA Gallery, Toronto
    "Sweet Talk": PROPELLER Gallery, Toronto
    Studio Show, Toronto
    Representation at Simply Cottage, Bracebridge

    Teaching:
    Encaustic Painting Instructor at the Koffler Centre of the Arts

    Curating:
    2016: Pamela Ozery Retrospective Exhibit at 1620 Dupont St Gallery in support of Art Starts
    2016: Art Starts annual showcase at the Toronto Centre for the Arts' Gallery Space
    2015: Pop up group shows at Bell Canada and Tangerine in partnership with ArtBomb

    ENCAUSTIC FAQ:

    WILL THEY MELT?
    Under normal temperatures, encaustic paintings will remain stable indefinitely. As with any work of art, please display your painting out of direct sunlight and avoid extreme temperatures. It is probably not wise to leave it in your car for any length of time in extreme heat or cold, or in front of a window in a non-air conditioned house in the summer. Encaustic paint melts between 50° and 60° Celsius so if cared for properly, your painting is unlikely to melt unless your house is burning. By hanging and storing your painting at room temperature you are ensuring it will retain its natural beauty for at least a few thousand years.

    CAN I TOUCH IT?
    The surface of encaustic is somewhat like a beeswax candle. Although it is completely dry, it can be scratched, gouged, or chipped if handled roughly and should be treated carefully as you would all pieces of fine art. When moving the painting, protect the surface and edges.

    CLEANING AND TRANSPORT
    As the wax cures, an encaustic painting may develop a film on the surface. This is a natural process called "bloom" and is easily removed, along with shallow scratches, by wiping the surface with a soft cloth. If it appears dull, give it a gentle dusting or buffing with a lint free soft cloth to maintain the unique patina of the wax.

    As with all works of fine art, use common sense when transporting your painting. You can protect it by attaching a piece of foam core or mounting board to its surface-side using the edges of the frame as a support and/ or wrapping it in bubble wrap.