We had the good fortune of connecting with Sabre Esler and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sabre, how do you think about risk?
Risk has to do with embracing fear and the unknown. As it relates to a career as an artist, it means being comfortable with failure. I continually have taken risks. The most recent being completely changing my work after entering graduate school when I was already a painter for 15 years. I believe artists must be comfortable taking risks or the work becomes stale and uninteresting. Pushing through fear to find novel and unique ways of engaging with an idea. Visual artists is the most obtuse way of explaining a complex idea. My work has become increasingly about complex ideas making the work more challenging for me. I suppose that is why many artists who have dedicated themselves to their craft have changed their work as their ideas morphed and grew. Picasso, Matisse, Giacometti are all examples of a career that spans volumes of ideas.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My curiosity keeps me busy. The work I make combines my love of the sciences such as psychology, physics, biology with art. When thinking about my body of work, the words that kept coming to me are patterns, pathways, and connections. There are patterns in how people behave, how we try to solve problems, how we innovate. The strategy of finding solutions reminds me of invisible systems in our minds. I also think about the layers of different solutions as maps plotted out that we replay when seeking answers. I read a book about problem-solving across various disciplines that I really fell in love with. The author weaves a story around a musician, mathematician, and an artist who used their fields to solve problems. My work shows the patterns and pathways that develop through solving problems, whether it be relationships, creativity, or innovation. I find this work relevant because one of my favorite artists is Leonardo Da Vinci, a creative genius in science and art. Instead of relying only on paint to create, I use all disciplines to show various ways to describe my idea. My life, with its many pathways, makes me who I am as an artist.

Interestingly, every experience we have makes us the people we become. I did not know that crafting would allow me to create sculptures with fibers and wire. My process starts by making sculptures of wire, thread, or yarn, where I explore patterns that look like complex webs made of geometric structures. I used what I learned from the sculptures to create oil paintings, mixed media wall reliefs with etched plexiglass, or silkscreen prints. I have been fortunate to find exhibition space to create room installations, essentially sculptures that you can walk into. They showed geometric patterns made of yarn. One was about innovation and the development of an idea. Another looked at the politics of white lies; how the patterns in our lying create a distorted web.  I like the installation work because it has a sense of play involved. The results are stunning because of the enormity of the material. People love walking into them and looking at all of the intricacies. I believe there can be harmony and beauty in resolutions. I crave that sense of order and understanding. People are “wired” to connect. We want to relate and find those who relate to us. All of my work starts from there. I came into graduate school saying that I believe we are all connected, so making work about connections seems like a perfect fit. I want people to take away that sense of awe and maybe a little bit of understanding that we all really need to find ways to build connections, not tear them down.
I recently installed a solo exhibition at Georgia State University that is showing until March 26, 2021. In this body of work, I specifically looked at the relationship between music and the mind. It is called “The Cosmos, The Cipher and the Soul.” As I began researching, I realized there are many ways to describe the relationship to music. I read a book called “The Jazz of Physics” where the author describes how music helped him with his dissertation. He is a quantum physicist and was stuck solving his idea until he started relating his other passion, jazz, and how improvisation also describes some of his theories scientifically. It is incredible to me that relationships across creativity and science are directly corollary.

I decided to look at three aspects of music. The first is the scientific component, where energy causes vibration. The artwork relating to energy use materials describing vibrations. The next series of works is the way composers harness sound into compositions. They do this in their own writing language that looks to me like a code if you can’t read it. The third is how we all feel when we hear a song that touches us emotionally. Music makes us feel certain emotions. It resonates through us. I would like people to know that science and math can be beautiful, and we are all connected. My artistic expression seeks ways to show people how we are all connected.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
It is great fun to be a tourist in Atlanta. There are so many hidden treasures in Atlanta. The easy things to do are the High Museum, The Botanical Gardens and the many museums in downtown Atlanta such as Civil Rights Museum and College Football Hall of Fame. If my friend is coming and likes to go antiquing, there is a once a month antique market called Scotts. I haven’t been in a while, but it is a great way to spend a day. I usually look for other arts events and exhibitions in the many venues around the city. I am a Studio Artist at Atlanta Contemporary and the exhibits here are well worth it. If the weather is good hiking in the north Georgia mountains is also a lot of fun. I have had some friends who want to go furniture shopping. The west side of town has so many great furnishing stores. If upscale shopping is a must, the Shops of Buckhead are great for window shopping as well as the other Buckhead malls. Eating out has so many great options. My favorites right now are Kyma, Atmosphere, The Optimist, Redbird. But honestly, there are hundreds of really wonderful eateries and high-end restaurants. If we weren’t in a pandemic, there are great venues for seeing live music. Chastain amphitheater is the best for seeing outdoor concerts and bringing your own picnic to watch and enjoy a summer evening.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
It is great fun to be a tourist in Atlanta. There are so many hidden treasures in Atlanta. The easy things to do are the High Museum, The Botanical Gardens, and the many museums in downtown Atlanta such as the Civil Rights Museum and College Football Hall of Fame. If my friend is coming and likes to go antiquing, there is a once-a-month antique market called Scotts. I haven’t been in a while, but it is a great way to spend a day. I usually look for other arts events and exhibitions in the many venues around the city. I am a Studio Artist at Atlanta Contemporary, and the exhibits here are well worth it. If the weather is good, hiking in the north Georgia mountains is also a lot of fun. I have had some friends who want to go furniture shopping. The west side of town has so many great furnishing stores. If upscale shopping is a must, the Shops of Buckhead are great for window shopping and the other Buckhead malls. Eating out has so many great options. My favorites right now are Kyma, Atmosphere, The Optimist, Redbird. But honestly, there are hundreds of really delicious eateries and high-end restaurants. If we weren’t in a pandemic, there are great venues for seeing live music. Chastain amphitheater is the best for seeing outdoor concerts and bringing your own picnic to watch and enjoy a summer evening.

Website: www.sabreesler.com

Instagram: sabreeslerfineart

Linkedin: sabre esler

Facebook: Sabre Esler

Youtube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLW8ZGvSQpm0oS-LghEVu0RXxIkqy6oENW

Image Credits
Diana Churn Photography

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