Edutainment > Sarah Brayer - born 1957

Sarah Brayer I

Japanese Prints - Home
Luna, 2001, aquatint
copyright Sarah Brayer

"Sarah Brayer's work has charmed me ever since I ran across her prints in a Ronin Gallery catalog in 1987. Her work has an indescribable emotional appeal. The subject matter of her early prints is Japanese in nature, yet any viewer can easily relate the imagery to events and feelings in his or her own life."
(Michael Verne)

Sarah Brayer lives in Kyoto/Japan and New York/U.S.A. She is known today for her poured washi paperworks, aquatint and woodblock prints. Upon her arrival in Kyoto in 1980, she studied etching with Yoshiko Fukuda and traditional woodblock printing with Toshi Yoshida. Art works by Sarah Brayer are in the collections of the British Museum, the Smithsonian Sackler Gallery and the American Embassy in Tokyo.

With Kind Support by Sarah Brayer

The following text was mostly taken from the homepage of Ms. Sarah Brayer, made available by kind permission and support by the artist, and was slightly edited by artelino.

Dieter Wanczura
(June 2006, updated November 2009)

Sarah Brayer - Aquatint, Woodblock, Poured Paperworks

Sarah Brayer II

Brian Williams - Biography
School's Out, 2001, aquatint
copyright Sarah Brayer

Sarah Brayer is best known today for her poured paperworks. Initially, the Rochester, New York native (b. 1957) studied printmaking at Middlesex Polytechnic, London in 1978 and received her B.A. in studio art from Connecticut College in 1979. She was drawn to the color aquatints of Mary Cassatt and to Japanese art and aesthetics through Raku-style ceramics. These interests led her to continue her artistic training in Japan.

Arriving in Kyoto in 1980, she studied etching with Yoshiko Fukuda (1937-1986) and traditional woodblock printing with Toshi Yoshida (1911-1996) the son of influential woodblock artist Hiroshi Yoshida. Her interest in color gradation was piqued by the woodblock technique, and she subsequently applied similar gradations to her color aquatints.

In 1986 she visited the Dieu Donne Papermill in New York City and here she first encountered poured paperwork - the technique she soon adopted as her own. This somewhat unpredictable, yet painterly technique seemed a perfect blend of chance and design, led her to the ancient Japanese paper-making village of Imadate as the place to experiment with large-scale poured-paper images.

Currently residing in Kyoto, Brayer divides her working time among Kyoto, Imadate, and New York City.

Galleries that Represent Sarah Brayer

Sarah Brayer III

Joshua Rome - Biography
Bibob Puddle Hop, 1984, woodblock
copyright Sarah Brayer

Works on paper by Sarah Brayer are represented by some of the finest galleries for contemporary Japanese art. This is not a complete list but a small selection of the those galleries listed in top search engine positions when searching for Sarah Brayer.

• The Verne Collection, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
• The Ren Brown Collection, Bodega Bay, CA, USA.
• The Tolman Collection, Tokyo, Japan.
• Ronin Gallery, New York, NY, USA.
• Azuma Gallery, Seattle, WA, USA.

Solo Exhibitions

Sarah Brayer IV

Daniel Kelly - Biography
Night Shift, 1985, woodblock
copyright Sarah Brayer

• 2004 - Azuma Gallery, Seattle, U.S.A.
• 2004 - American Club in Tokyo, Japan.
• 2004 - Ronin Gallery, New York: internet exhibit.
• 2003 - Galleria LL, Kobe, Japan.
• 2002 - Kato Gallery, Tokyo, Japan.
• 2002 - The Tolman Collection, Tokyo, Japan.
• 2001 - Hanga Ten, London, England.
• 2001 - Beatrice Royal Gallery, Eastridge, England.
• 2001 - Izumi-en, Osaka, Japan.
• 2001 - Ars Locus Gallery, Kyoto, Japan.
• 2000 - Takashimaya Gallery, Yokohama, Japan.
• 2000 - Tokyo American Club, Japan.
• 2000 - The Tolman Collection, Tokyo, Japan.
• 1999 - The Ren Brown Collection, Bodega Bay, California, U.S.A.
• 1999 - Gallery Bonten, Shimonoseki, Japan.
• 1998 - Gallery Rewdex, Kyoto, Japan.
• 1998 - Shoestring Gallery, Rochester, New York, U.S.A.
• 1998 - CHIC, Rokko Island.
• 1997 - The Tolman Collection, Tokyo, Japan.
• 1997 - Ars Locus Gallery, Kyoto, Japan.
• 1996 - Ronin Gallery, New York, U.S.A.
• 1996 - Tokyo American Club, Tokyo, Japan.
• 1996 - Gallery Bonten, Shimonoseki, Japan.
• 1996 - Ars Locus Gallery, Kyoto, Japan.
• 1995 - Dieu Donne Gallery, New York, U.S.A.
• 1995 - WICE Artspace, Paris, France.
• 1995 - Daimaru Gallery, Osaka, Japan.
• 1995 - Kanda Gallery, Okinawa, Japan.
• 1994 - Takashimaya Gallery, Yokohama, Japan.
• 1994 - Shoestring Gallery, Rochester, New York, U.S.A.
• 1994 - A Sense of Place The Verne Collection, Cleveland, Ohio,U.S.A.
• 1993 Takashimaya Gallery, Tamagawa, Tokyo, Japan.
• 1993 - Tokyo American Club, Tokyo, Japan.
• 1993 - The Ren Brown Collection, Bodega Bay, California, U.S.A.
• 1993 - Galeries Ann Monnet, Kyoto, Japan.
• 1992 - Sarah Brayer at Byodoin Temple Invitational honoring Kyoto's 1200th year.
• 1992 - Azuma Gallery, Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.
• 1992 - Gallery Cocteau, Kyoto, Japan.
• 1992 - Shoestring Gallery, Rochester, New York, U.S.A.
• 1992 - Kanda Gallery, Okinawa, Japan.
• 1991 - Recollections Tokyo American Club, Japan.
• 1991 - Takashimaya Gallery, Yokohama, Japan.
• 1991 - Daimaru Gallery, Osaka, Japan.
• 1991 - Takashimaya Gallery, Tamagawa, Tokyo, Japan.
• 1990 - Connecticut College, New London, Connecticut, Invitational, U.S.A.
• 1990 - Ronin Gallery, New York, U.S.A.
• 1990 - Shoestring Gallery, Rochester, New York, U.S.A.
• 1989 - Kato Gallery, Tokyo, Japan.
• 1989 - Gallery Blanche, Osaka, Japan.
• 1989 - Kintetsu Gallery, Kyoto, Japan.
• 1989 - Tokyo American Club, Tokyo, Japan.
• 1989 - Gallery San, Kyoto, Japan.
• 1988 - The Museum of Modern Art, Shiga, Japan.
• 1988 - Recent Works April Sgro-Riddle Gallery, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
• 1988 - Daimaru Gallery, Kobe, Japan.
• 1988 - Shukugawa Gallery, Shukugawa, Japan.
• 1987 - Sumi Arts, Hong Kong.
• 1987 - "The Japanese Bath and other Landscapes", Carter Arcand Gallery, Portland, OR, U.S.A.
• 1987 - Kato Gallery, Kobe, Japan.
• 1987 - Kintetsu Gallery, Kyoto, Japan.
• 1987 - Tokyo American Club, Tokyo, Japan.
• 1986 - Kimura Gallery, Palo Alto, California, U.S.A.
• 1986 - April Sgro-Riddle Gallery, Los Angeles, U.S.A.
• 1986 - Takashimaya Gallery, Yokohama, Japan.
• 1986 - Sumi Arts, Hong Kong.
• 1986 - Kato Gallery, Tokyo, Japan.
• 1985 - Tokyo American Club, Tokyo, Japan.
• 1985 - Kintetsu Gallery, Kyoto, Japan.
• 1985 - Kobe Club, Kobe, Japan.
• 1985 - C Club, Rochester, New York, U.S.A.
• 1984 - Kanda Gallery, Okinawa, Japan.
• 1983 - Tokyo American Club, Tokyo, Japan.
• 1983 - Foreign Correspondents' Club, Tokyo, Japan.
• 1983 - Tsutaya Gallery, Kyoto, Japan.

Selected Group Exhibitions

Sarah Brayer V

Helen Hyde - Biography
Spring Falls, 2005, aquatint
copyright Sarah Brayer

• 2005 - The Color of Night: How Artists Work with Darkness, Zimmerli Art Museum, Rutgers University.
• 2003 - Japan Through Western Eyes, The Morikami Museum, Del Ray Beach, Florida, U.S.A.
• Snow in Winter: Ukiyo-e and Contemporary Prints from Japan, The Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation, London.
• 1853-2003:! A Sesquicentennial Salute to Commerce and Cultural Exchange between Japan and the USA, the Newark Public Library, Newark NJ, U.S.A.
• 2002 - Rags to Riches: 25 Years of Paper Art from Dieu Donne Papermill: Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.A.
• 2002 - Mariana Kistler-Beach Museum of Art, U.S.A.
• 2002 - Heckscher Museum of Art, Huntington, New York
• 2001 - Rags to Riches: 25 Years of Paper Art from Dieu Donne Papermill , Kresge Art Museum, Michigan; Maryland Institute College of Art
• 1999 - Miyabi: a Celebration of Beauty by Five American Artists of Kyoto, Sogetsu Museum, Tokyo. Curated by Norman Tolman.
• 1997 - Across Cultures: Five Contemporary Artists from Japan. Allen Memorial Museum, Oberlin, Ohio, U.S.A.
• 1997 - Kansai Artists, YCAC, Yokohama
• 1995 - Out of the Drawing Room, Recent Acquisitions: Works on Paper by Women Artists. The Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester, U.S.A.
• 1995 - Works on Paper, The Verne Collection, New York, U.S.A.
• 1994 - The Verne Collection, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A.
• 1994 - New Editions Ronin Gallery, New York, U.S.A.
• 1992 - Accent on Paper: 15 Years at the Dieu Donne Papermill Lintas Worldwide, New York
• 1990 - Intaglio Printing in the 1980's. The Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey
• 1988 - Relief Printing in the 1980's. The Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum, Rutgers University. Curated by Trudy Hansen.
• 1998 - Regional Printmakers Pyramid Gallery, Rochester, New York
• 1998 - Carter-Arcand Gallery, Portland, Oregon, U.S.A.
• 1998 - The Mitzie Verne Collection, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A.
• 1987 - Mary Ryan Gallery, New York, U.S.A.
• 1987 - Eight Artists from Kyoto Takashimaya Gallery, Yokohama, Japan.
• 1987 - Prints from the Yoshida Studio Kabutoya Gallery, Tokyo, Japan.
• 1986 - Curator's Choice Portland Art Institute, Oregon, U.S.A.
• 1986 - Saga Print Annual New York, U.S.A.
• 1986 - The Bank of Tokyo, Hong Kong.
• 1986 - April Sgro-Riddle Gallery, Los Angeles, U.S.A.
• 1985 50/50 Monoprints-Prints Montgomery College, U.S.A.
• 1984 - The Caraccio Collection Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, U.S.A.
• 1984 - American Painters from Kyoto Ronin Gallery, New York, U.S.A.
• 1984 - Foreign Artists in Kyoto Hankyu Gallery, Senri Osaka, Japan.
• 1982-2005 The College Women's Association of Japan Print Show Tokyo
• 1998-2005 The New York Print Fair, the Armory, New York City
• 1982-2002 - Kyoto Etching Association Annual Kyoto City Art Center.

Museums and Public Collections

Sarah Brayer VI

Yuji Hiratsuka - Biography
Emerald Bath, 1993, carborundum
copyright Sarah Brayer

• The British Museum.
• The Sackler Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution.
• Oregon Art Institute
• The University of Rochester Memorial Art Gallery
• The Newark Public Library
• The Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum
• US. State Department, Washington, DC
• American Embassy, Tokyo
• University Hospitals, Cleveland
• Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore
• Citibank, Tokyo
• TRW Collection, Los Angeles
• American College Board Collection of American Prints
• Ozumo Restaurant, Newport Beach
• The Jewish Home, Rochester, New York
• 154 Corporation, Tokyo
• RJ Reynolds/MC Tobacco, Tokyo.

Awards and Sponsors

• 2001 - Japan 2001 sponsorship, London, England.
• 1990 - The College Women's Association of Japan 35th Anniversary Grant for Print Artists, Tokyo/Japan.
• 1979 - cum laude Studio Art, Connecticut College, New London, U.S.A.
• 1978 - The Marguerite Hanson Award for Art Connecticut College, U.S.A.

Publications

Sarah Brayer VII

Contemporary Japanese Printmakers
Goldfish, 2006, aquatint
copyright Sarah Brayer

• 2005 - "City Pearls" printed in the Zimmerli Journal 3, Zimmerli Art Museum, Rutgers University of NJ, U.S.A.
• 2003 - Rosemary T. Smith, Japan Through Western Eyes, 1854 to the Present, The Morikami Museum, Del Ray Beach, Florida, U.S.A.
• 2003 - CWAJ print artists and scholars create a good impression, The Japan Times, October, 15, 2003, Japan.
• 2003 - Kyoto Shimbun, feature article Nov. 11, 2003, Japan.
• 2003 - Angela Jeffs, Celebrating "washi" in tune with Kyoto winters, The Japan Times, Nov. 30, 2002, Japan.
• 2003 - Dai-ichi Seimei Hall, cover art, The Rubio Quartet and Yoshiko Endo Tokyo American Club magazine "47th Annual Print Show", Japan.
• 2002 - Kyoto Journal, inside art, Japan.
• 2001 Wigmore Hall, cover art, The Rubio Quartet and Yoshiko Endo.
• 2000 - Sarah Brayer, Sarah Brayer Prints 1980-2000.
• 1999 - Isabel Reynolds, "American artist gets it down on paper.", The Daily Yomiuri, April 15, 1999.
• 1999 - Five American Artist of Kyoto, Hanga Geijitsu No. 104, Tokyo Japan, p. 111.
• 1997 - Betsy Franco & Michael Verne, Quiet Elegance: Japan Through the Eyes of Nine American Artists.
• 1997 - Across Cultures: Five Contemporary Western Artists from Japan.
• 1997 - Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin College Bulletin Number 1.
• 1997 - Trudy Hansen,Evolving Forms/Emerging Faces; Trends in Contemporary American Printmaking , Zimmerli Art Museum, Rutgers University.
• 1995 - Kyoto Journal, inside cover art, Spring 1995.
• 1994 - "Prints and Paperworks of Sarah Brayer", Journal of the Print World, Spring 1994.
• 1994 - Helen Cullinan, "Prints offer views of Japan", The Plain Dealer, May 20, 1994. *review.
• 1994 - Roberto Casin, "Paper and Color", Aboard magazine, May/June 1994.
• 1993 - "Post Modern Japanesque", Kimono, November 1992.
• 1993 - Peter Mallett, "Papermaking offers Creative, Colorful Medium", Asahi Evening News, Sept. 5, 1993, Japan.
• 1992 - "Culture Portrait", Photo, January 15, 1992.
• 1991 - Stewart Wachs, "Painter's Career Flourishes in Kyoto" The Japan Times, Feb. 10, 1991. *review.
• 1990 - Ron Netsky, "Work from Kyoto to Brighton" Democrat and Chronicle, May 20, 1990. *review.
• 1990 - Zimmerli Art Museum, Intaglio Printing in the 1980's.
• 1989 - cover art Alan Booth, Tsugaru; Looking for the Lost.
• 1988 - Zimmerli Art Museum, Relief Printing in the 1980's: Prints and Blocks from the Rutgers Archives for Printmaking Studios.
• 1988 - Ron Netsky, "From the Beauty of Kyoto to a Regional Print Show". Democrat and Chronicle, March 6, 1988.
• 1988 - Stewart Wachs, "Painting with liquid paper produces new genre for Brayer", The Japan Times, November 21, 1988. *review.
• 1985 - Lawrence Smith, Contemporary Prints From Japan: Symbols of a Society in Transition.
• 1985 - Grace Glueck, The New York Times, March 22, 1985.* review.

Michael Verne and Betsey Franco wrote a book, published by Tuttle Books

Quiet Elegance
Japan through the eyes of nine American Artists

The book is out of print, but available through Verne Gallery.

Lectures and Interviews

Sarah Brayer VIII

Paul Jacoulet - Biography
River Mist, 1982, woodblock
copyright Sarah Brayer

• 2001 - Lecture, "Painting With Paper", The Japan Society, London, England.
• 2001 - Lecture, "Painting With Paper", Beatrice Royal Gallery, Eastleigh, England.
• 1995 - Lecture, Viewpoints, the Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester.
• 1995 - Lecture, the Zimmerli Art Museum, Rutgers University.
• 1992 - Feature story on Byodoin exhibition, NHK News, Kyoto, September 22nd News report on Byodoin exhibition, NHK News Kansai, September 25th.
• 1990 - Lecture, "Painting with Liquid Paper", The College Women's Association of Japan, Tokyo.
• 1990 - Lecture, Art Department, Connecticut College, U.S.A.
• 1989 - Interview "Catch Up: Tokyo Art Expo" Marui News, Tokyo, November.
• 1988 - Review of Museum of Modern Art Shiga exhibition, NHK News, Kansai, November 12, 1988.

Commissions

• 2004 - Washi Art, Ozumo restaurant, Newport Beach, California, U.S.A.
• 2003 Print edition, the Verne Collection, Cleveland, U.S.A.
• 2003 Washi fusuma doors, private residence, Kyoto, Japan.
• 2001 Paper door paintings, private residence, Kobe, Japan.
• 1997 Paperwork mural, Ars Locus Concert Hall, Kyoto, Japan.
• 1995 Paperwork edition, Dieu Donne Papermill, New York, U.S.A.
• 1993 Paperwork mural, Johns Hopkins Hospitals, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A.
• 1992 Print edition, Rutgers Center for Innovative Printmaking, New Brunswick, Canada.
• 1989 Watercolor mural, University Hospitals McDonnell Women's Hospital, Cleveland, U.S.A.
• 1988 Various art works, Boit Des Amour restaurant, Osaka, Japan.
• 1988 Print edition, Citibank, Tokyo, Japan.

Collaborations

Sarah Brayer IX

Woodblock Prints by Paul Binnie
First Snow, 1991, aquatint
copyright Sarah Brayer

• 2004 - Kimono painting design for 3 dances and cover art for postcard in Kimono.
• 2004 - Series choreographed and danced by Heidi S. Durning. Kyoto and Osaka.
• 2004 - Screen backdrop, program art and kimono painting and design for costume worn for Woman By the Sea; performed by the Rubio Quartet and Heidi S. Durning. Rokko, Japan.
• 2004 - Kimono painting for dance costume worn by Heidi S. Durning: Noh and Spanish guitar "Raku" Alti Hall, Kyoto, Japan.

Education

• 1982-84 - Woodblock printing, The Yoshida Studio, Miasa, Japan.
• 1975-1979 - Studio Art Department, Connecticut College, B.A. cum laude, U.S.A.
• 1978 - Printmaking study, Middlesex Polytechnic, London, England.
• 1982-84 - Woodblock printing, The Yoshida Studio, Miasa, Japan.
• 1996, 1998, 2000, 2003 - Crown Point Press, San Francisco, U.S.A:

Sarah Brayer on the Internet

Sarah Brayer Studio - home page of the artist.

edited by Dieter Wanczura
(June 2006, updated November 2009)

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