Sarah Lüdemann

Profession

MA Fine Art Alum

College

Central Saint Martins

Person Type

Alumni

Biography

Sarah Lüdemann completed her MA in Fine Art at Central Saint Martins in 2011.

About me

I was born in Cologne and grew up on a farm in the North of Germany.
I never decided to do be an artist, I was born one,
but I did make the decision to go to art school and then to make money with art.

I’m hugely interested in surrealist scenarios, human psychology, ambivalent emotions, and I work with video, performance, sculpture, drawings, text and experimental photography.

CSM

Gilbert & George went to CSM and Mona Hatoum went to Byam Shaw School of Art, so that's where I wanted to be.
Byam Shaw became part of CSM the year I studied. So it was perfect.
The college was better than I imagined, because we had great Course Leaders and a very small MA class. Just 13 people. We really loved each other and each other’s work
We’re still in touch and have shown together twice since we graduated.
Pretty special.

My advice

Love your work

Know who you are and what you want

Keep playing

Authenticity is strongest

Don't worry too much

My work

I am currently working on large fur drawings, videos and concrete sculptures.
I think I have developed a slight obsession with fur, death and sex.
I am really interested in the abject, surrealist awkwardness and the subconscious.
And then I like figuring out systems in order to break them.
The drawings need to be bigger than life size these days and the sculptures are also projection surfaces for videos.

Gold, black, red and grey are very dominant colours in my work. I would love to live on a farm for a while to produce my own material. So fur and bones. I want to learn how to slaughter animals. It seems right to be involved so closely.
I don't like the way our society compartmentalises and separates.

After CSM

I moved away from London to Berlin, which has a great art scene. It took me a little while to understand the dynamics of the market and all. But I really got into it and love all aspects of my job. The networking, the research, the writing, the accounting even. I've had loads of international shows, done various residencies and started selling properly one and a half years ago.
I often feel like a businesswoman on top of being an artist.

I have a solo show coming up at HDLU, Zagreb, Croatia; I’m about to sign a contract with a Berlin design label to design a series of accessories; and then I am going to LA for three months to stay with Gabriel Kuri and his family.
They're giving me their spare bungalow and studio.
So generous.
I feel very blessed.
After my return I have an important group show in Hamburg.

That's the bigger things.

The future

I don't think I have aims so much, but I am letting out what sits inside me and wants to be made and done.
It's going to be big though.
And epic.
And somehow Gesamtkunstwerk-like.
I enjoy the big stages, the large spaces, the big budgets and also the idea of being involved with various different mediums and large-scale productions.

Sarah Lüdemann

Biography

Central Saint Martins

Contact

Address