Sara Pope is a contemporary artist renowned for her eye-catching paintings of painted lips that capture the sensual and seductive power of the mouth. Sara Pope’s art imitates the slick and flawless images that are used in advertising, questioning societal standards of beauty and the notion of femininity.
Sara Pope is a contemporary artist renowned for her eye-catching paintings of painted lips that capture the sensual and seductive power of the mouth. Sara Pope’s art imitates the slick and flawless images that are used in advertising, questioning societal standards of beauty and the notion of femininity.
After completing a degree in mathematics, Pope felt disconnected from her artistic side and decided to move to Barcelona and study graphic design. Back in the UK, Pope worked in media as an art director and designer for many years. Her passion for shoes led her to enrol in a footwear Diploma at the London College of Fashion, and work as a shoe designer. Pope draws on her knowledge and experience of advertising to create her irresistible and glossy images of glamourous bold lips that emulate the glossy images found in magazines. Pope first paints and photographs her model’s lips in a range of poses, with special lighting and makeup techniques to ensure that they look perfect. These photographs are then used as inspiration for the painting part of the process, which sees Pope layer several coats of thin oil-diluted paint, ensuring at each stage that the colours are blended and smoothed extensively, sometimes with the addition of lipstick too.
Pope exposes the toxicity of perfectionism that is rife in the commercial sphere.
Pope was a shoe designer for brands including Paul Smith and Lacoste.
Pope was the first British artist in over 70 years to have an artwork accepted into the Vatican collection.
Pope regularly sells her artwork in auctions at Bonhams Auction House.
Pope’s work has been shown at The Saatchi Gallery, the London Original Print Fair at the Royal Academy of Art, and SCOPE Miami.
ARTIST SPOTLIGHT
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Sara Pope is best known for her seductive paintings and limited edition prints of big, bright and beautiful celebrity lips. Her bold images pack a thought provoking Pop Art punch, raising questions about the ideals of beauty and the transience of celebrity culture. Here she tells artrepublic about her work in the fashion industry, her maths degree detour and her admiration for Grayson Perry… You have described your series of paintings as “collections”; in what ways are you influenced by your work in the fashion industry? I get a lot of inspiration and ideas from the fashion industry, ranging from ...
