A Personal Project From Photographer Sarah Flotard: The Artist's Studio

Today we're featuring a personal project from Seattle-based food and lifestyle photographer Sarah Flotard. While many of Sarah's photos capture some of the countries hippest eateries along with the gorgeous food they serve, this project tells a very different story with the same curiosity and wonder.

Artist's Statement by Sarah Flotard:

Every time I head the the east coast to visit my mother in New Jersey, I visit Andrew Lukach’s home studio, nestled in my mom’s backyard. Andrew was my mother’s husband, a dear friend and an abstract expressionist painter who taught for many years at the Art Students League of New York. His work has been exhibited at the New York Metropolitan Museum, The Library of Congress and is held in many private collections.

Andrew passed away almost a decade ago, but his studio remains very much the same. My mom, other than doing a bit of housekeeping, essentially closed the doors and left things as he had left them. It’s truly an artist's time capsule. I open drawers and peek in cabinets and never know what I’m going to find. I love the brushes, the spider webs and of course the paintings I uncover by Andrew or other works given to him over his tenure by has peers and his students.

Andrew was an artist in the truest sense of the word. He could make anything, repair anything, teach anyone who had a willingness to learn. His studio—originally a chicken coop built in the late 1800’s that he expanded behind his home — reflects that creativity. This was a man that would go to any garage sale on any given weekend and find the one special thing there. He repurposed his studio’s leaded glass windows with one’s being thrown out by Metropolitan Museum of Art in the 1970’s. Bobby Kennedy once delivered a speech from the small marble staircase he rescued from a New York tear-down and now lives near a pergola in his yard. Andrew saw the beauty in everything. And he knew how to sit, and be still, and enjoy the things around him. I think that’s what I admire about him most. 

After years of visiting the studio, I decided to dedicate time to shoot it over a long weekend. It was very sweet and special to work with my mom, my OG stylist, look though photos, learn more about his his past. I think with personal projects, the work in the end is so rewarding, but even more so is the process getting there.

To view Sarah's complete portfolio visit www.sallyreps.com or www.sarahflotard.com.