Sarah Leuchtner is a Chicago-based contemporary artist working in painting, drawing and sculpture. Born and raised in Chicago, she draws inspiration from city life and her surroundings, as well as iconography, contemporary culture, vintage signage, processing grief and repetition. Leuchtner’s imagery includes an alphabet of imagined or found shapes and varying interpretations of the grid. Leuchtner works out of her studio in the West Town neighborhood of Chicago.
Leuchtner received her BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2016. A selection of her recent exhibitions in Chicago include; Lawrence and Clark Gallery, Hans Gallery, and Bianca Bova Gallery, as well as Northeastern Illinois University. She showed at NADA Chicago in 2020 and EXPO Chicago in 2022. Leuchtner was included in a museum show at The CICA Museum of Contemporary Art in South Korea in 2020. She has also exhibited in New York at Below Grand Gallery (formerly Superdutchess Gallery) and at the International Centre for the Arts in Monte Castello, Italy. She had a solo exhibition, Midnight Mirage, at Belong Gallery (Chicago) at the end of 2022. Leuchtner recently had a solo exhibition, Sequential Escapes, at Goldfinch Gallery (Chicago) in 2023, and exhibited at EXPO Chicago in 2023. She had a solo exhibition, Processing Skies Past, at OS Projects (Racine) in 2024. Her work is being permanently featured in L7 Chicago and the United Club ORD Collection.
education
2016 The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, BFA, Chicago, IL
solo exhibitions
2024 Processing Skies Past, OS Projects, Racine, WI
2023 Sequential Escapes, Goldfinch Gallery, Chicago, IL
2022 Midnight Mirage, Belong Gallery, Chicago, IL
2020 NADA Chicago, Bianca Bova Gallery, Chicago, IL
2019 12 New Paintings, Bianca Bova Gallery, Chicago, IL
group exhibitions
2023 Once, Cleve Carney Museum of Art, Glen Ellyn, IL
2023 Retrospectiva; What We Know, Plug Gallery, Kansas City, MO
2023 Beyond the Mesh, W.gallery, Chicago, IL
2022 ART-IN-PLACE, CNL Projects + Terrain Exhibitions, Chicago, IL
2022 Baby Blue's 5th Anniversary, Baby Blue Gallery, Chicago, IL
2022 Electric Pink Lemonade, Circle Contemporary, Chicago, IL
2022 disco disco, installation at The Whistler, Chicago, IL
2020 Collage, Hans Gallery, Chicago, IL
2020 Abstract Mind 2020, CICA Museum of Contemporary Art, South Korea
2019 Handmade by Robots, Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago, IL
2019 MORE Small Painting(s), Lawrence & Clark, Chicago, IL
2019 OPEN 4.0, Slate Arts and Performance, Chicago, IL
2019 CONNECT, Slate Arts and Performance, Chicago, IL
2019 Good Looks Aren't the Only Thing That Matters, Superdutchess Gallery, New York, NY
2019 mailArt, Lawrence & Clark, Chicago, IL
2018 GIFC, 0-0 LA Gallery at Western Exhibitions, Chicago, IL
2018 YoutubePOOP, Slate Arts and Performance, Chicago, IL
2016 Hello, Strangers, curated by Minghui Huang & Zhewei Jin, Chicago, IL
2016 BFA Thesis Exhibition, SAIC Sullivan Galleries, Chicago, IL
2015 Group Exhibition, International Centre for the Arts, Italy
2014 Play, Red Hall Gallery, Chicago, IL
fairs
2023 EXPO Chicago, Aaron Galleries, Chicago, IL
2022 EXPO Chicago, Aaron Galleries, Chicago, IL
2017 IFPDA Print Show, Aaron Galleries, New York, NY
2016 IFPDA Print Show, Aaron Galleries, New York, NY
residencies
2022 Kimball Arts Center, Artist in Residence, Chicago, IL
2015 International Centre for the Arts, Italy
lectures
2024 (Upcoming) Visiting Artist Lecture at University of Illinois Chicago
2024 Visiting Artist Lecture at University of Illinois Chicago
2022 Visiting Artist Lecture at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago for Expanded Print Class
selected press & publications
2024 Luxe Interiors + Design, Feature and Interview
2023 Newcity, Exhibition Review of Sequential Escapes
2023 Create Magazine, Feature
2021 Offkilter Magazine, Feature and Interview
2020 Chicago Reader, “Our Favorite Things for Fall Arts”
2019 Create Magazine, Exhibition Review