Tiny Houses consists of a series of plein air oil paintings by Sarah Hart. This body of work masterfully captures the elegance and charm of several small structures located in the Finger Lakes region of New York. In a time of oversized homes and overconsumption, Sarah’s work begs the viewer to question what society values, and provides an opportunity to romanticize the simplistic beauty of minimalistic living.

You are invited to come join us for the opening reception at Art Center of Rochester on Friday, June 4 from 6-9 pm.

“Tiny house is a project that has been going on for many years. It began with a sub genre of tiny churches. As churches lose their congregations I became curious what was happening to the very little ones. I went to many Sunday services and painted the church afterwards. Every interaction was unique. For example, one congregation was nine people including the pastor and me. It was the pastor's birthday. In the basement were tables and chairs for seventy people. We had enough cake and ice cream for seventy. Every tiny church had no pianist and was using a boom box. I knew I was witness to something vanishing.

As I ran out of nearby churches, I took note of very old tiny houses. In Brockport and the surrounding towns and city people are always excited about the huge glamorous houses. The tiny ones proudly display their one piece of gingerbread or little porch or unique shape. They are just as old as the big ones who get all the attention, these tiny Victorians. This led to the next category, the tiny Victorian barns. Every year for the past twenty five or so, I notice a huge old barn collapse in our area. My study of the barns revealed this is happening to the tiny barns too. They fill nooks and crannies of our vision. I love seeing them and thinking about how old they are and built before people had vehicles and power tools. And they are right there yet disappearing all around us.” ~ Sarah Hart

Sarah Hart is a traditionally trained painter. She lives and works in Brockport, NY. She and her husband recently purchased and now run The Hart Gallery. There are 8 artist studios in addition to the gallery in the historic downtown building. She rented her studio there for twelve years from the previous owner.