X EYE ROOM
CHROMATIC
SARAH LOUISE HAWKINS
1 NOV - 15 FEB 2025
AT EYE ROOM
SARAH LOUISE HAWKINS
THE ART COURT X
EYE ROOM
The Art Court was founded in 2022 by Courtney Spencer to sell, source, and commission art for public and private settings in the North of England.
We curate temporary exhibitions in stunning spaces across Yorkshire to provide a welcoming way to buy art. Owning artworks that truly resonate with you can enhance your everyday experiences. We work to understand your taste, space, budget, and logistical considerations to search our extensive network of artists to find the perfect piece for you.
We are excited to be collaborating with Eye Room. This is the fourth in a series of exhibitions that the independent optician is hosting at their Scandinavian setting in Leeds City Centre. Already known for their carefully curated range of eyewear and discerning sense of style, art exhibitions further enhance a visit to Eye Room for clients and art lovers alike. The exhibition can be viewed in this online catalogue and in person.
OPENING TIMES
Mon - Fri, 10 am - 6 pm Sat 10 am - 5 pm
All welcome
Eye Room, 9 Mill Hill, Leeds LS1 5DQ
SARAH LOUISE HAWKINS
B. 1980 KINGSTON UPON HULL, UK
Sarah Louise Hawkins creates work that blurs the line between painting and sculpture, exploring the intersection where a painting becomes an object, and sculptural forms take on painterly qualities.
Her practice centers on shaped wooden canvases and constructed geometric forms, often architectural in nature and predominantly wall-based. Through her use of color, shape, and pattern, Hawkins investigates the nuances of spatial and optical perception, drawing from systems like grid patterns, repeated lines, and bold color combinations.
Her work manipulates solid forms within space, creating compositions that evoke both depth and flatness. The surface patterns engage viewers in an optical experience, shifting and transforming as they move, thus continuously altering the perception of the piece in real time.
INTERVIEW
Court: This is the third time we’ve worked together. Thinking back, I first saw your work at your degree show at Leeds Arts University in 2014 with the caged eggs sculptural piece! Have you always been drawn to sculpture?
Sarah Louise: I would say I have always been drawn to shapes, forms and how they act and interact in the material world - how things fit together and the abstractness of everything around us. I started out as a painter making colourful and intricate abstract compositions of urban environments but evolved into making objects when studying in Leeds. The workshop facilities and fantastic technicians I worked with really supported and encouraged experimentation with materials. I fell in love with the process of making and constructing physical objects and the potential of taking my ideas beyond the flat surface.
Court: When did you know you wanted to be an artist? And can you tell us a bit about your time in Leeds as a student?
Sarah Louise: For as long as I can remember. My Dad was a craftsman, and my older brothers are both creative, so that was my environment growing up. It wasn’t always easy for my dad to make a living from his art so I knew it wouldn’t all be smooth sailing, but I really couldn’t ever imagine myself doing anything else. In truth, it’s the only thing I’ve ever been any good at! Art has been one of the few constant and stabilising things throughout my life.
I returned to education a little older in life, so it was a bit of a culture shock suddenly being surrounded by 18 - 21-year-olds in my early 30s. But aside from the fantastic workshop technicians, I probably gained the most from being around the other students - talking through our ideas, making discoveries and growing as artists. I found the same peer support invaluable when later studying for my MA at Manchester School of Art. My advice to artists would always be to surround yourself with other creatives.
Court: Thinking back to your earlier work, there have always been elements of grids or patterns even when you were working with found objects. 2019 is when I first saw you merge painting and sculpture, the way you are now. Where did this shift come from? Was is during your MA?
Sarah Louise: I was moving that way before my MA, but there was a freedom to experiment in the MA studio which allowed me to explore ideas without worrying about final concepts or planning finished artworks.
I learned to strip back and let go of my previous ways of thinking about my practice and the slightly rigid box I thought it sat in. I began to think through making, which is now the only way I can work. As I began to broaden my approach, it became apparent that, fundamentally, it is the language of sculpture and the act of interrogating the capacity of sculptural forms to express my ideas that fascinates me the most.
Court: Your work explores spatial and optical perception. What drew you to explore these elements, and how do you want viewers to engage with the illusions in your work?
Sarah Louise: I’m interested in exploring the boundary between painting and sculpture - when does a painting stop being read as a painting and become a sculptural object, and can sculptural works take on the qualities of a painting?
I am also interested in the perception of the viewer and how they physically interact with an art object, the space it inhabits and the feelings and sensations that can manifest.
The patterns and colour relationships on the surface of the artworks help create optical sensations and a space that extends outwards or around for the viewer. I find it less interesting to make flat images for the viewer to statically observe, rather I enjoy encouraging the act of really looking and engaging with the object in front of them.
Court: That makes sense. And I really love the way the patterns and combinations of colours draw you in to explore the works by moving around them. How do you make the shapes?
Sarah Louise: The shape of the objects and those found in the surface patterns sometimes come from things I see in the world - architecture, textile design, geometry found in nature. But my work is very self referential and most often
the shapes and patterns are taken from previous works then expanded upon, repeated, made smaller, made bigger, etc. I often paint a pattern on the surface of one work and then take a shape from that pattern and build a canvas of that shape for the next piece. You will see patterns, shapes and motifs repeated again and again in different permutations.
I hand-build the forms out of wood (usually birch plywood) - either entirely from scratch or by adapting and reconstructing found/sourced objects. Once the basic form is complete I will fill in imperfections and give it an overall sand. I will then paint a base coat of white underpaint, sand again and repeat until the surface is completely smooth. It will then be ready for me to pencil in the pattern, give it a final underpaint and sand and then paint it with acrylic paints. I sometimes use a little masking tape for accuracy, but most often they are almost entirely painted by hand.
Court: That’s impressive! You must have a steady hand! Once you have the shape, do you then respond to that with your choice of pattern and colour?
Sarah Louise: Yes. I very rarely know what the surface pattern will be before creating the shape. Most works start with the idea to build a particular shape and the pattern is a response to curves and angles of that shape. I work very intuitively with little planning beforehand. It goes back to my thinking through making - I like to have an element of discovery when making the
work as it makes it more interesting and spontaneous for me. I am often surprised with what I have made by the end! This is true of the colour combinations too. I usually decide what colours to use just before painting in the details. I can do this because of the knowledge and experience I have gained experimenting with colour combinations over the years - my colour palette has become part of my visual vocabulary.
Court: I assumed you would test patterns and colours in a digital mock-up but is that the case?
Sarah Louise: I never make digital mockups and rarely test patterns or colour combinations beforehand. I almost never do preparatory drawing to plan a piece. If I do a sketch it’s just to jot down an idea so I don’t forget it, it’s not to work out how or what to make. Again, I prefer to just start making and see where I end up.
Court: People can engage with your work on many levels. You’ve mentioned that historical references impact your work. Can you talk us through some of these?
Sarah Louise: I think all artists are inspired in some ways by those that have gone before them, either by rejecting their ideas or taking on board the elements that resonate with them. I am happy for viewers to enjoy my work simply because they like the shapes, patterns and colours, but there are definitely ways to view my work with an art history context in mind.
SARAH LOUISE HAWKINS
Sometimes as an artist you discover others with similar sensibilities, who think or feel or explore ideas in a way that resonates. It’s actually a pretty great feeling when you discover your tribe - even if that tribe was active long before you were born! Some of the historical artists I feel particularly connected with are: Jeremy Moon, Richard Smith, Carmen Herrera, Phillip King, Imi Knoebel, Sol LeWitt, Phyllida Barlow, Bridget Riley, Al Held, Agnes Martin, Al Loving, Elizabeth Murrey, etc, etc! There are also many contemporary artists all over the world also interested in the themes I explore in my work and I have been lucky enough to connect and share with a number of them online over the years.
Court: How do you approach colour?
Sarah Louise: If it zings it wins!
Court: I like that! Your work really does zing and is very photogenic! But seeing it in real life is something else. Do you think about the viewer moving around the works when you’re making it?
Sarah Louise: Thank you. Yes, constantly, though because of my thinking-throughmaking process I don’t entirely know what the viewer will experience until the piece is complete.
Court: You’ve been pretty busy lately and I’m so excited you were able to fit this show in so thank you for that. And thinking about your career - what would you say has been your career highlight thus far?
Sarah Louise: You’re very welcome. It’s been lovely to work with you! I have to confess I am a bit of a workaholic when it comes to my art practice. My partner often has to remind me to take a day off! The truth is though (most of the time) I just really enjoy what I do and I’m excited to see what I will make next.
I think my career highlight is just around the next corner! That being said, it was pretty thrilling for me to recently be included in a group show in America with the fantastic New York artist Katherine Bradford. It was amazing to know my work was sitting alongside such a well known and regarded artist, whose work I have greatly admired. The show was in Belfast, Maine and was curated by the wonderful Gideon Bok.
Court: What’s the best way for people to follow your work?
Sarah: WEB: sarahlouisehawkins.com INSTAGRAM: @sarahlouise_hawkins
Court: Have you got any plans for 2025?
Sarah: Make more work!
Court: Thank you so much for your time and for this incredible show. From the moment The Art Court collaborated with Eye Room, I wanted to see your work in this space, so thank you.
Aerial (2023)
Acrylic paint on wood panel
16cm x 19cm x 10.5cm (approx)
£500
Ember (2024)
Acrylic paint on wood
15cm x 15cm x 15cm (approx)
£400
Acrylic paint on wood
24cm x 14cm x 10cm
£300
Ghost (2023)
Acrylic paint on wood panel
51cm x 51cm x 5cm (approx)
£5,000
Moonlit (2023)
38cm x 38cm x 6cm
£2,500
Flight (2023)
Acrylic paint on wood
84cm x 26cm x 10cm (approx)
£5,000
Relay (2024)
Acrylic paint on plywood
43cm x 23cm x 14cm (approx)
£2,500
Drift (2023)
Acrylic paint on wood
17.5cm x 17.5cm x 7cm (approx)
Deco (2024)
Acrylic paint on wood
£300
Archer (2024)
Acrylic paint on plywood
77cm x 77cm x 1cm (approx)
£1,500
Zinnia (2024)
Acrylic paint on wood
15.5cm x 9.5cm x 4.5cm (approx)
£250
Lagoon (2024)
Acrylic paint on plywood
50cm x 16.5cm x 10cm (approx)
£1,500
Crux (2024)
Acrylic paint on wood
23cm x 23cm x 15cm (approx)
£450
Shapeshifter (2023)
Acrylic paint on plywood / mixed wood
74cm x 21cm x 8cm (approx)
£3,500
Minilith (2024)
Acrylic paint on wood
17.5cm x 12.5cm x 6.5cm
£300
44cm x 13cm x 5cm (approx)
£550
Tether (2024)
Acrylic paint on wood
£4,000
Icon (2024)
Acrylic paint on plywood
41cm x 39cm x 10.5cm (approx)
SARAH LOUISE HAWKINS
Outer Limits (2024)
Acrylic paint on wood
50cm x 50cm x 1cm (approx)
£1,500
Flux (2020)
Acrylic paint on wood panel
36cm x 28cm x 2cm (approx)
£850
Interchange (2024)
Acrylic paint on wood
33cm x 43cm x 10cm (approx)
£3,500
Alter (2021)
Acrylic paint on wood panel
93cm x 61cm x 2cm (approx)
£3,000
The exhibition is also available to view in person at Eye Room.
OPENING TIMES
Mon - Fri, 10am - 6pm Sat 10am - 5pm All welcome
Eye Room, 9 Mill Hill, Leeds LS1 5DQ
If you would like further information about any of the artworks or our personal art shopping service please contact us via the details below and we will be delighted to assist you.
+44 (0)77 8618 1968
Images by Sarah Louise Hawkins and Lucy Forrester.