Renowned Portrait Painter Mary Sauer Contemplates Ephemerality of Time and Beauty in
Latest Body of Work

Park City, UT (May 10, 2018): Utah artist Mary Sauer combines classical figurative painting with
modern philosophies in her revealing portraits. Academic painters of the 19th century, particularly
French naturalists, inform Sauer’s timeless subject matter and masterful technique. Concepts
such as false identity or fleeting beauty are drawn from contemporary societal trends; Sauer’s
interest in fashion photography and our psychological view of perfection separates her work
from that of traditional portraiture. Her latest paintings for her solo exhibition capture
disappearing moments, places and ideas through various subjects including nostalgic storefronts,
abandoned interiors and vintage portraits. Remnants opens Friday, July 27th with an artist
reception from 6-9pm.

“I’m interested in capturing things that really speak to this idea of beauty,” says Sauer. “And in a
lot of cases things that are fleeting and don’t last forever.” Sauer’s portraits are typically of
women and children; her own experience as a new mother witnessing the constant change in her
young daughter readily informs her work. For her solitary female figures, Sauer references
fashion photography in the way she uses light, posture and dress to compose an image rather
than attempt to reveal the character of the sitter. She evokes nostalgia through her subject’s
vintage clothing and backdrop speaking to the ephemerality of time as well as beauty. For
Remnants, Sauer takes this concept beyond the figure with paintings of deserted interiors and
historic storefronts that symbolize our rapidly changing culture. Many of Sauer’s interiors were
inspired by a visit to Bodie State Historic Park in California, a preserved ghost town from the gold
mining era that stands as evidence of times past. “These disappearing places deserve to be
captured, preserved and remembered,” says the artist.

Sauer currently lives and works near Salt Lake City, Utah. Her paintings have been exhibited
throughout the United States from Park City to Boston to New York. She’s been a five-time finalist
in the Portrait Society of America International Portrait Competition, most recently in 2018, and
was awarded Best of Show in 2012. She also received the Art Renewal Center Realism Award of
Excellence at the Oil Painters of America National Juried Exhibition in 2017. She has been
featured on the cover of American Art Collector Magazine and in the annual “21 under 31” feature
in Southwest Art Magazine.