Hold the Door: Radical Contemporary Women Printers

Sarah Matthews

About the Artist

Sarah Matthews’ work reflects her commitment to exploring the complex issues of race, equality, and gender, while shedding light on social injustice. Through her layered prints and artist books, she documents the struggles of breaking through societal barriers. As an African-American, Mrs. Matthews has experienced firsthand the impact of negative media images that portray her community as inferior. Through her art, she aims to challenge these stereotypes and empower her audience to recognize the beauty, intelligence, and importance of all individuals, regardless of race.

Sarah Matthews is a highly skilled printmaker and book artist with a background in art and business. She holds an MA in Art & the Book from the Corcoran College of Arts and Design at George Washington University, an MBA with a Marketing Concentration, and a BS in Sociology from Bowie State University. Her works have been exhibited internationally and are part of prestigious collections at institutions such as the National Museum of African American History & Culture Library, Yale’s Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, George Washington University’s Gelman Library, University of Puget Sound, and Samford University. Mrs. Matthews is also a dedicated educator, teaching Artist Books at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) and bookbinding and printmaking classes at various art centers and platforms.

Photo of artist, Lauren Emeritz at a platen press

Artist:

Sarah Matthews

Social media: @iamsarahmatthews

Website: iamsarahmatthews.com

Exhibition

Hold the Door: Radical Contemporary Women Printers

This collagraph monoprint of an American army uniform, adorned with patches of both Korean and U.S. flags, serves as a poignant reflection on identity and the visible traces of American influence on South Korea’s history. It also speaks to my own experience growing up as a first-generation, gay Korean immigrant.

Bad Printing
Collab with Lauren Emeritz
Letterpress Print
38” x 25”
2025

Get Back To Work
Collab with Lauren Emeritz
Letterpress print
38” x 25”
2025

This print features a miniature doll-sized military uniform suspended in a dreamlike void. Set against a backdrop of ink-stained balloon explosions, it evokes a surreal battlefield where innocence, violence, and nostalgia intermingle. The disembodied figure hovers—caught between weightlessness and detonation, suggesting the emotional dissociation of growing up under the shadow of war.

Love or Hate
Letterpress print
38” x 25”
2025

Trust Black Women
Letterpress print
38” x 25”
2025

X Factor 2
Letterpress / woodblock print
Triptych of 3 Panels
24” x 18” for each panel
2025

X Factor 2 is a letterpress woodblock print that captures the collective experience of the COVID-19 pandemic while intertwining it with the urgency of the Black Lives Matter movement. Through meticulous detail and evocative imagery, the piece reflects the profound emotional weight of this moment in history, urging viewers to confront uncomfortable truths and call for social change. The unjust murder of George Floyd serves as a haunting reminder and a powerful call to end racism within our justice system.

Rage