Sarah Cunningham, a talented British painter known for her dynamic and gestural style, has tragically passed away at the age of 31. Her gallery, Lisson, confirmed the news this morning. Cunningham had been reported missing following a night out with friends, and her body was discovered two days later. While her death was unexpected, authorities are not treating it as suspicious. In a heartfelt statement, Lisson described her as “an incredibly talented, intelligent, and original artist who we all called a friend.”
Cunningham's artwork captivated viewers with its hypnotic landscapes, infused with the chaos of nature and an underlying psychological tension. Lisson's statement highlighted the authenticity and intuitive nature of her paintings, noting t
heir ability to create immediate connections—qualities that mirrored Cunningham’s own strong spirit.
Born in Nottingham in 1993, Cunningham showed a passion for drawing from an early age, choosing to pursue a fine art degree at Loughborough University despite practical advice to the contrary. While at university, she primarily worked in collage, a period she later reflected upon fondly, recognizing it as foundational to her artistic journey.
After graduating in 2015, Cunningham worked as a van driver, a demanding job that involved late-night hours and extensive travel throughout the UK. This unique lifestyle influenced her creative process, as she often embraced the unconventional mindset that arose from her nocturnal work.
Her artistic breakthrough came when a friend gifted her oil paints, leading her to discover her true calling in painting. “The fluidity and autonomy of the pigment, the way it could stretch and dissolve—I never looked back,” she shared in an interview with Artsy last year.
Cunningham set up a studio at the Backlit Gallery and began producing paintings that she showcased at various local venues in Nottingham, drawing inspiration from her own photographs, found images, plants, shells, and poetry.
In 2018, she was selected for a research residency with La Wayaka Current, which allowed her to live and work alongside the Indigenous Guna communities in Panama. During this time, she expressed her interest in exploring the textures and landscapes that shaped the community's identity, planning to base a new series of paintings on their descriptions of home and belonging.
In 2019, Cunningham received the Ali. H. Alkazzi Scholarship Award, enabling her to enroll in the prestigious painting M.A. program at the Royal College of Art in London, from which she graduated in 2022. That same year, she held her first solo exhibition at Almine Rech in New York.
Her career continued to flourish, culminating in an inaugural show at Lisson Gallery in 2023, where her exhibition titled “The Crystal Forest” combined imagery from her childhood experiences in Sherwood Forest with inspirations from the tropical rainforests of Panama. This successful debut was followed by another exhibition, “Flight Paths,” at Lisson’s Los Angeles location.
Since 2021, Cunningham had participated in numerous international group exhibitions, showcasing her work at notable venues such as Almine Rech in New York and Aspen, Galerie Max Hetzler in Berlin, and Lisson’s locations in Seoul and Vancouver. Her contributions to the art world will be remembered and cherished.
英國新興畫家莎拉·坎寧漢（Sarah Cunningham）於31歲去世
英國畫家莎拉·坎寧漢以其富有活力和手勢風格而聞名，近日不幸去世，享年31歲。她的畫廊利森（Lisson）今早確認了這一消息。坎寧漢在與朋友外出後失踪，兩天後被發現其遺體。雖然她的去世令人意外，但當局並不認為有可疑之處。在一份感人的聲明中，利森形容她是一位「非常有才華、聰明且獨特的藝術家，我們都稱她為朋友」。
坎寧漢的作品吸引了觀眾，擁有迷人的風景，融合了自然的混亂與潛在的心理緊張。利森的聲明強調了她畫作的真實性和直覺性，並指出這些作品能夠立即與他人建立聯繫，這些特質也反映了坎寧漢堅強的個性。
坎寧漢於1993年在諾丁漢出生，自小對繪畫充滿熱情，選擇了在拉夫堡大學攻讀美術學位，儘管她收到了更實際的建議。在大學期間，她主要從事拼貼藝術，這段時間她後來回憶起來非常懷念，認為這是她藝術旅程的基礎。
2015年畢業後，坎寧漢擔任了送貨司機，這是一份艱苦的工作，涉及夜間工作和全英國的廣泛旅行。這種獨特的生活方式影響了她的創作過程，因為她經常接受夜間工作後產生的不尋常心態。
她的藝術突破出現在朋友送給她一套油畫顏料之後，讓她發現了自己真正的繪畫天賦。她在去年對《Artsy》表示：「顏料的流動性和自主性，以及它可以拉伸和溶解的方式——我再也不會回頭。」
坎寧漢在藝術家主導的巴克利特畫廊（Backlit Gallery）建立了工作室，開始創作並在諾丁漢的多個地方展出她的畫作，靈感來自於自己的照片、找到的圖像、植物、貝殼和詩歌。
2018年，她被選中參加由藝術家主導的非營利機構La Wayaka Current的研究駐留計劃，讓她能夠與巴拿馬的土著古納社區一起生活和工作。在此期間，她表達了對探索塑造社區身份的質地和風景的興趣，計劃根據他們對家和歸屬感的描述創作一系列新畫作。
2019年，坎寧漢獲得Ali H. Alkazzi獎學金，得以進入倫敦皇家藝術學院（Royal College of Art）攻讀競爭激烈的繪畫碩士學位，並於2022年畢業。同年，她在紐約的Almine Rech舉辦了第一次個展。
她的事業持續蓬勃發展，最終在2023年於利森畫廊舉辦了首次展覽，題為《水晶森林》（The Crystal Forest），該展覽將她童年在舍伍德森林的經歷與巴拿馬熱帶雨林的靈感相結合。這次成功的首展之後，她又在利森洛杉磯的展覽《飛行路徑》（Flight Paths）中展示了她的作品。
自2021年以來，坎寧漢在多個國際群展中定期展出她的作品，包括在紐約和阿斯彭的Almine Rech、柏林的Galerie Max Hetzler以及利森在首爾和溫哥華的展覽。她對藝術界的貢獻將被人們懷念和珍視。
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