Sarah Ingraham: Pattern, Pleasure, and the Painted Table

In her 2025 exhibition at Portland Art Gallery, Brooklyn-based painter and Maine native Sarah Ingraham reimagines the genres of still life and landscape through a bold, contemporary lens. Rich with visual references to global textiles, ceramics, and craft traditions, Ingraham’s work merges decorative arts with painterly expression in acrylic and hand-tufted yarn. Paintings like Green Composition with Pink Bowl on Tablecloth, Bouquets with Cake in Hot Pink Room, and Red Rose Dipping into Neon Green Bowl Full of Peaches celebrate color, abundance, and a lush domesticity, while exploring deeper themes of indulgence, pleasure, and beauty. Her compositions pulse with ornamental energy and a modern reinterpretation of art historical motifs.

With works spanning canvas and fiber—like Tufted Still Life with Lemons on Pink and Tufted Still Life with Orange Vase—Ingraham blurs the boundary between painting and object, fine art and craft. Her stylized table scenes and floral arrangements bring together elements of pattern design, still life painting, and material culture. For collectors of contemporary still life, maximalist interiors, and modern decorative painting, Ingraham’s show offers vibrant, tactile works steeped in heritage and bold originality. These paintings speak to a renewed appreciation for visual richness, femininity, and the power of ornament in 21st-century art.