Sarina Brewer

Sarina Brewer
Born	Minneapolis, Minnesota
Nationality	American
Education	Minneapolis College of Art and Design
Known for	Taxidermy Sculpture
Movement	Taxidermy Art, Pop Surrealism
Website	Taxidermy Art of Sarina Brewer

Sarina Brewer is a Minneapolis-based American artist known for her avant-garde taxidermy sculpture and her role in the popularization of taxidermy related art. Brewer is one of the individuals responsible for the formation of the genre of Rogue Taxidermy, a variety of mixed media art. A primary directive throughout her career has been the use of ethically procured animal materials.

Brewer's parents, also artists, raised her in an environment centered around wildlife and family pets. Her art arose from an interest in biology and nature. She studied at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD), earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1992. During her formative years at MCAD she worked primarily with found objects, most of which were mummified animal remains. Her early works were shrines to the animals they incorporated and often involved the gold leafing of animal mummies, a technique still utilized in her current body of work. Her work with the remains of animals evolved into taxidermy over the years and she is self-taught in this realm. She describes the art she has created throughout her career as an hommage to the animals she uses. Brewer is a conservationist and former wildlife rehabilitator who volunteered in the biology department at the Science Museum of Minnesota for over a decade.

In 2004, Brewer and two fellow Minneapolis artists established The Minnesota Association of Rogue Taxidermists (MART), an international collective of artists who use taxidermy-related materials (both organic and synthetic) as the common thread to unite their respective styles of mixed-media sculpture. The work of Brewer and the other founders of MART dramatically changed the way taxidermy materials are used. The pioneering work of Brewer and her fellow co-founders gained worldwide attention in 2005 after they appeared on the front page of the New York Times art section following their inaugural gallery exhibition. The article featured Brewer's taxidermy sculpture titled Goth Griffin. Positive response from other artists following the exhibition led to the formation of the collective. Public interest in the genre gave rise to an art movement. Taxidermy art (a term used interchangeably with Rogue Taxidermy) is a trend that started in Minnesota with the work of Brewer and fellow MART co-founders and now has an international following.

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