First Ladies: Paintings by Tina Sarno at the Gallery at Still River Editions
First Ladies: Paintings by Tina Sarno at the Gallery at Still River Editions. Opening reception is free and open to all on Saturday, April 20th, 2 pm - 4 pm. The exhibit runs through June 28, 2024.
First Ladies is an exhibition of oil paintings by Tina Sarno of Silvermine, Connecticut. Sarno began painting the series in 2018 at the suggestion of a friend, and she has painted over thirty-five to this date.
When painting, Sarno seeks out historical portraits and biographical details for inspiration, revealing things that may not come out in a formal portrait. For example, one of her most recent works shows Grace Coolidge with her pet raccoon, Rebecca.
Sarno says of this body of work, “My oil portraits are my impression of paintings from the past, painted from history instead of being painted from life.” Occasionally someone will look for a flattering likeness in a portrait and Sarno says, “People are smart, I think it’s important to challenge them and ask them to use their brains.”
Tina cites among her influences Alice Neel, Florine Stettheimer, Gustav Klimt, and John Singer Sargent. Regarding Neel, Sarno says, “Her portraits were painted in a manner that makes the viewer question who these people are without being forced to find them to be especially important, as in culturally historical figures.”
Some of the paintings are black and white, while others are in vivid color. A number of the paintings in this exhibition were created at Zero Foot Hills artist residency in Durham, CT in the summer of 2023.