SARA BERMAN
Sara Berman is a British artist whose work challenges societal narratives around femininity, power, and perception. Drawing on the archetype of the Harlequin as both Trickster and Whore, Berman interrogates the historic objectification of women - radicalising portraiture by turning the gaze inward. Through self-representation, she dismantles the male gaze and asserts control over the visual narrative of female identity. Her muted, delicate aesthetic belies a deeper tension; bruised canvases and fluid linework reveal emotional intensity beneath compositional grace. With every painting, Berman navigates a fragile balance between allure and resistance - where violence lives within beauty and defiance rests inside softness.
In this candid conversation, Sara Berman unravels the threads of her practice - from the Harlequin’s subversive grin to the quiet rebellion of bruised canvases - revealing how humor, motherhood, and a comic book sensibility shape her unflinching gaze.
YOUR WORK CHALLENGES TRADITIONAL PORTRAITURE AND THE MALE GAZE. WHAT DREW YOU TO USE YOUR OWN IMAGE AS A TOOL FOR RECLAMATION AND RESISTANCE?
It kind of evolved. At first I was using my body for convenience, and that then became very much a decision. It has become central to my practice to use my own body as a site of exploration. It is personal.
THE TROPE OF THE HARLEQUIN - AS TRICKSTER AND WHORE - PLAYS A CENTRAL ROLE IN YOUR PRACTICE. WHAT DOES THIS ARCHETYPE REPRESENT TO YOU, AND HOW HAS IT EVOLVED IN YOUR WORK?
When played by a man, the role of the Harlequin is imbued with power. He is the joker, the king’s fool, the lovable rogue. When this role is played by a women (other than Colombina - Arrlecinnos mistress) she is not accorded the same power, Instead she is the Trickster Whore. Originally I would dress the figure in a harlequin pattern but as the work has evolved I now start every canvas with this motif of the harlequin and I obliterate it with paint to present an alternative reading.
YOUR AESTHETIC IS GENTLE AND MUTED, YET THE WORK IS LADEN WITH VISCERAL, SOMETIMES VIOLENT UNDERTONES. HOW DO YOU BALANCE THIS DUALITY IN YOUR PROCESS?
The work is very layered and can be violent in its making in terms of mark making. It goes though many stages in its evolution. Often the violence gets hidden or can be overlooked. I like this metaphor for femininity.
THE CANVAS IN YOUR WORK OFTEN APPEARS ‘BRUISED’ - WAS THIS A CONSCIOUS TECHNICAL DECISION, OR SOMETHING THAT EMERGED ORGANICALLY THROUGH THE EMOTIONAL CONTENT?
The bruised surface developed out of a series of lucky accidents which feel emotionally telling. It’s just what my work does. It is tempting to try and take credit for something over which I actually have limited control. I think one of the wonderful things about painting for me is the way it takes me on a journey and tells a story I didn’t know I was trying to tell.
WHAT ROLE DOES FEMININE RITUAL, PERFORMANCE, OR COSTUME PLAY IN YOUR APPROACH TO THE BODY AND SELF-PORTRAITURE?
The performative side of the process is becoming increasingly important. Autofiction is an appealing term. I am enjoying playing things out- considering alternatives roles to inhabit and using costume as a way in. Sometimes the costume exists and inspires a fully formed role and sometimes i make them, feeling my way and the character tends to come alive in the photographic session. There is definitely a ritualistic side to this. The act of dressing up and performing for the camera somehow allows me to separate myself from the character I am exploring and come at it from a different angle.
It allows me to widen the field on what portraiture is and how it operates in the work.
