Interview with Sarah Kudirka

In advance of the show opening tomorrow we caught up with artist Sarah Kudirka who has a busy week.  You can see Sarah's work in the show but also you can go and see (and buy) her work at the other art fair.

Tell us about your work and influences.  We guess that your current work, given that it starts small scale, is perfect for RCA secret?

I am a painter whose work is about objects, buildings and words. The shapes and edges of ordinary stuff marked by traces of experience, have long held a fascination for me and that's what I make work about. I love cities and architecture and since the city where I live and work. They are about looking up at the sky through the gaps between urban buildings. A simple idea but a compelling project. Having now made over 400 individual images in the series (they look amazing en masse) my intention is to extend the project to other cities.

 

You've been donating to RCA Secret for some years now. What is it that you like about the show ?

I have contributed cards to the RCA Secret show every year since 2004 [back then I was Sarah Davenport, I was Kudirka Davenport for a while, and now I am called Sarah Kudirka (my husband's family came from Lithuania to east London in the 20s)]. I like the way it is a group show including lots of big name artists, but is kind of sweet and understated. I mean it is put on in an egalitarian way, with each work perching modestly on the neat, long, shallow shelves.

What do you think about the hard-core fans who queue overnight or even for days to buy work at the show ?

I think the hard-core fans who queue for days and camp out to get cards on their wishlist at RCA Secret are great. A little crazy too perhaps, but I admire their dedication. I loved meeting a few recently at The Other Art Fair - such long-standing enthusiasm for the show is wonderful!

 

Do you like looking round the postcards yourself?  What work appeals to you?

Sorry no, I haven't actually made it along to see the show for a couple of years.

Have you ever bought something or queued ?

 

I have never queued or bought any myself, but the other day I found a list of the ones (just the numbers) my husband and I liked when we last went to see the show, it read like a secret code.

Do you have a favourite card that you have donated to a previous sale?

I think my favourites are those where the buyer of my card has got in touch with me afterwards, as new collectors of my work. That's probably the best bit for me as an artist. I usually put in something that relates closely to what is in my head and my studio right then. I usually forget to photograph them before I pop them in the post, so I often have no record of what I've sent in (stupidly). So if you get mine this year, do email me a shot of it on your wall please.

Have you got any projects on the go at the moment?  What can we look forward to?

I am painting now, in parallel with my London series, over Polaroids I took in Berlin and I may show there later this year. I would love to be commissioned to work in/on other cities too. I have been asked to make a series in Beirut so that may happen further down the line. I have travelled to some amazing places in the Far East, Australia and the US that I'd love to revisit with my Polaroid, and part of my childhood was spent in Nairobi: there are lots of places on my list for making work!