Sara Valentino

I am a Melbourne based printmaking artist and a visual arts educator.

As a first-generation Italian Australian, there is a strong connection to my roots. My Italian culture, traditions and rituals (and more generally my European connections) as well as my life experiences growing up in Australia are integral to how I perceive and interpret what I see and encounter. It’s been important for me to reconnect with many of the rituals that became so much a part of my everyday that I stopped really seeing them. These connections are evident in my work through a range of subjects including architecture or the simple morning coffee routine!

I create original limited edition lino prints based on both my photographs and drawings. My work has been described as abstract realism. The linear qualities that my chosen subjects often present sit comfortably with my particular style of imagery. I think of my work as my reaction to, and interpretation of, the personal connections I've made along my life’s journey. Connection is key in my work.

Both drawings and photographs are often manipulated in photoshop to reduce the tonal values in the unfolding story with less, rather than more, in an abstract way, with a strong balance of light and dark and minimal use of colour that aims to create visual movement.