Bio
Tari Sasser is a native of southwest Ohio and currently resides in Liberty Township. She began her career as a graphic design artist before returning to school at Miami University in Ohio to study fine arts, a passion of hers since childhood. In her paintings and many artistic endeavors, Tari uses an experimental approach to explore and create vivid, abstract representations of the world around her. Her unconventional artistic style makes a big splash against the conservative backdrop of the Cincinnati suburbs, and she hopes to inspire wonder and delight with her playful works. She currently practices her art and shares her love of painting and creativity at Pinot’s Palette in West Chester. You can view Tari’s art at the Pendleton Art Center in downtown Cincinnati, as well as at her upcoming show at VADA Gallery in January 2022.
Artist Statement
Color, emotion, and form animate my paintings. I paint intuitively, with brushstrokes guided by both underlying compositional intention and by the emotions of the moment. I have a high sensitivity to color – my life is ruled by it – and that is how I usually begin: giving form to the colors that inspire and move me.
Color is exciting, happy, and alive. I gravitate towards those that are bright and vivacious, studying how they can both arrest attention and evoke emotion. Like many artists with a blank canvas, I begin with mark-making, entwining color with gestural movement. Mark making moves me into a flow of expression, imparting energy to my canvas. From there, I am governed by color. While intuitive and emotional, the sustained, meditative practice of my paintings works towards a visual sensibility: a riot of color with an underlying composition. The layers start building, and a composition unfolds as I give form to a cacophony of self-expression.
I create mixed media art pieces using acrylic paints, collage materials (primarily paper), pencils, pastels, and markers to cast such colors, ideas, and emotions into form. As the layers of the different media come together, they introduce new lines, textures, and patterns that the rest of the piece responds to, elevating the work’s unruliness and dynamism. I am delighted by hiding elements in my pieces, evoking surprise, and revealing the layers of errant thought and emotion that have gone into its composition. Recently, I have been drawn to the figure of the moth: a symbol of rebirth, change, and transformation. I have been inspired to catch such meaning and movement amid the color and visions of my paintings, expressing a triumphant realization of life in flying form and, more quietly, the energy of ongoing change.