Sarah Emily Porter

Following her virtual residency with us in September 2020, we are excited to have Sarah join us in person at the Art Yard Studio. From March to May 2025, Sarah will showcase her signature paintings alongside her sculptural and design works, with a focus on dynamic collaborations and hands-on engagement.

Through the creation of innovative painting tools that pour and tilt paint at various angles, Sarah emphasises the act of creation as important as the finished piece. Viewing her completed paintings as byproducts of a dynamic, performative process, Sarah plans to use this opportunity to publicly showcase this often overlooked aspect of her practice, typically hidden behind closed doors. To further foster community engagement, Sarah will invite hotel guests and community members to participate in the co-curation of a poured painting, following her signature technique.

Sarah will also work alongside Art Yard Kitchen’s chef to design a creative dessert inspired by the colour, form and processes that encompass her practice. Additionally, Sarah will represent Bankside Hotel at this year’s London Craft Week, offering visitors a behind-the-scenes look at her creative process and the chance to join special workshops and discussions. Through these experiences, Sarah hopes to spark meaningful conversations about the role of art in society and the value of creative exchange.

About Sarah’s Practice:

Sarah Emily Porter specialised in architectural history at Durham University, graduating in 2008, and has since attended Chelsea College of Art, graduating with a Distinction in Fine Art in 2016. She now practices as an abstract painter from her Leyton, East London studio. Heavily influenced by her previous history degree, her work often has architectural and sculptural attributes but is derived from the traditions and histories of painting. By pouring and manipulating paint on tilting wooden structures, Sarah Emily Porter’s practice emphasizes the process of making by removing the gesture and emotion of the artist’s hand from the final work. Instead, she subjects paint to the forces of gravity and uses systems and order to create opportunities for chance, creating tension between what was and what could be. Through this method of painting, she seeks to highlight the significance and complexity of colour and reveal intricacies in her materials.

Open House

Art Yard Maker’s Studio has an open-house policy, so if you‘re visiting our neighbourhood’s major art galleries, Southbank Centre, Tate Modern or Hayward Gallery why not stop by to see an artist at work.