At Large

Virginia Living art columnist, novelist and former gallery curator Sarah Sargent is a self-proclaimed seeker of the “strange and startling” in contemporary art. We talked to the Wellesley and Columbia-educated art historian—who wrote about conceptual folk artist and “punkster” Steve Keene in our October issue—to pick her brain about contemporary art in Virginia. Whip-smart and witty, this talented writer calls ‘em as she sees ‘em, and, as we found out, what she sees is a burgeoning statewide art scene.

VL: You worked at Hirschl & Adler Galleries in New York City and for artists like ceramicist Eva Zeisel. So why move to Charlottesville?

SS: New York is a wonderful place, but it can be very wearing if you’re in the arts. I was looking for a different lifestyle. I was born in Washington D.C.—my father served as a commissioner of the SEC under President Eisenhower—and I grew up in New York, in the city. But my family spent a lot of time at a remote place in Maine, and in Ireland, so I am used to rural places. Charlottesville is rural but urbane, that’s what appealed to me.

VL: You worked as curator of Second Street Gallery in Charlottesville for six years. What attracted you to that space?

SS: The freedom I had to be daring. It’s a non-profit contemporary art space and though the work is for sale, the focus wasn’t on selling so you could present work that was really challenging.

VL: What drew you to a career in the arts?

SS: I’m a visual person and I come from a long line of people interested in the arts. My uncle is chair of a university art department, my cousin is a teacher and an expert on Monet and my grandmother—from Bangor, Maine—was a spotter for Israel Sack, the antiques expert. Growing up in New York we went to museums all the time. I think I went to the Metropolitan Museum once a month all during my childhood and we always had really nice art in our home—it was a part of our life. Plus, I react incredibly quickly to art, it’s visceral for me.