Sabrina Puppin Interview
Dr. Sabrina Puppin is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice negotiates the tension between structure and fluidity. Her works, exhibited internationally across Italy, Doha, New York, and beyond, explore perception, distortion, and the interplay of color, gesture, and space. In this conversation with The Arab Today, she shares insights into her creative process, philosophical roots, and evolving artistic priorities.
Balancing Structure and Fluid Space
We started the interview by asking, “You describe your work as a negotiation between “structure (vessel)” and “surface (fluid space)”. Could you walk us through how you actually balance those two aspects in your creative process, especially when beginning a new piece? What are the moments of tension, and how do you resolve them?”
Sabrina Puppin replied, “When I start a new piece, I begin with an understanding of the structure: what the limits of the format will be, how the space is framed, what proportions it has. I think of the structure as the rational scaffold, the boundary, the frame, the vessel that will contain whatever energy I want to release.
Then comes the surface: fluid space, color, gesture, spontaneity. This is where things become more intuitive. I often work with different media (glazes, mixed media) and pay attention to drying times, density, how colors interact. I may use droppers, brushes, sometimes sticks. Each medium has its own “character” in how it flows, how it layers, how transparent or opaque it becomes. That means I need to anticipate (and try to control) how the colors will interact, but also leave space for chance.
The tension arises when the structure feels restrictive to that fluid, expressive layer: maybe the frame is too rigid, or my planned proportions limit what the fluid surface wants to do. Sometimes parts of the surface threaten to overwhelm or break out of the structure. To resolve that, I might adjust the structure, perhaps reshaping it visually, using edges of negative space, or modifying the scale of features so that the dynamic fluid patterns have room to breathe without compromising compositional balance. Sometimes resolving the tension is about embracing it: letting some fluidity spill over, letting imperfection show, as a way to highlight the interplay between control and freedom.”
The Roots of Perception and Daydreams
The Arab Today: Your work often involves distorted perception of reality, daydreams, and spatial relationships that are dematerialized. What are the philosophical or emotional roots of this interest? Which experiences in your life have shaped this vision?
Sabrina Puppin replied, “My philosophical interest in perception comes from seeing the world in different cultural, geographic, and aesthetic contexts. Traveling, living between Doha and New York, studying African art, teaching, curating, all of these have made me aware that reality is not fixed; it’s filtered through culture, history, and individual experience.
Emotionally, I believe there’s also a need for escape, for wonder, for seeing beyond what is immediately visible. Some of this comes from introspection: how I perceive familiar places differently, how memory or expectation can distort what we see. I’m drawn to daydreams because they are fluid, unbound; they offer a counterpoint to the rigidity of everyday structure, deadlines, and visual routines.
Philosophically, I’m influenced by the idea that perception and reality co-create each other. Reality doesn’t exist separately from how we perceive it; our perception actively participates in giving shape to what we call reality. So my work tries to show that interplay, to dematerialize what we assume to be solid and reveal what lies beneath: spatial relations, color relationships, movement, light, and emotional undercurrents.”
Technical Challenges and Creative Breakthroughs
The Arab Today: In your interviews, you mention that although the surface may appear spontaneous or fluid, much of the work is extremely laborious and physically intense, with consideration of drying times, media densities, etc. Can you describe a particularly challenging piece where those technical constraints almost derailed you and how you overcame them?
Sabrina Puppin replied, “Yes, there have been several where the technical side pushed back hard. One example might be a large triptych where I was working with very fluid glazes and mixed media, on wood or heavy substrate. Because of the size and scale, controlling drying time was a major issue: if a section dried too fast, the surface would crack or the edges would retract in ways I didn’t want; if too slow, colors would bleed more than intended.
Also, layering multiple translucent glazes means that what’s underneath affects what shows on top. Sometimes a color that looked good in isolation loses its energy when many layers are built up. I remember in one work, the blue-green tones started to muddy, losing the vibrancy I wanted, because adjacent layers interacted in unpredictable ways. At that point, the challenge was whether to scrap parts, to reapply, or to let some areas remain imperfect as part of the texture.
I overcame these problems by slowing down parts of the process, doing test swatches for interactions, adapting the schedule of work segments so that I could work in areas out of direct sun or heat (which affects drying), and being ready to pivot. Sometimes I accepted that the unpredictable response is part of what makes the piece alive. That willingness to adapt, to relinquish perfect control, is crucial.”
Cross-Cultural Influences and Shifts in Place
The Arab Today: Your work has been exhibited internationally and also involves residencies, large solo shows, and cross-cultural influences. How do the different locales where you live and work (Italy, Doha, New York) inform your work? Do you feel your art shifts in response to place, audience, or culture?
Sabrina Puppin replied, “Absolutely. Each place brings its own visual culture, light, color palette, ambient climate, architectural forms, and even the daily rhythms of life. Growing up in Italy gives me a sensibility for certain landscapes, light, and temperaments of color. Being in Doha exposes me to light, heat, and spatial expanses that are harsh or intense. New York offers a frenetic visual overload, layers of structure, architecture, and energy.
When I am in a different place, I absorb unconsciously or consciously: the colors of the sky, the tones of building materials, the textures of the natural or urban ground, the intensity of light and shadows. Also the culture: what people expect art to be, what spaces are available, how art interacts with public or private life, all of these shape what I make. Sometimes being in a new place prompts experimentation: new scale, new materials, or trying more daring color combinations.
Audience plays a role too. What might feel subtle or hidden in one culture may resonate differently in another. What provokes in New York might not in Doha, and vice versa. Sometimes I tailor certain pieces or exhibitions to their context, or at least take into account the site and architecture where the work is shown. But I try not to lose the core of my vision: the negotiation between structure and fluidity, the interest in perception.”
Cross-Cultural Influences and Shifts in Place
The Arab Today: Looking forward: given your deep experience, from teaching and curating to creating your art, what are your evolving priorities? Are there new directions, whether technical, conceptual, or medium-wise, that you are exploring, or risks you want to take that you haven’t yet?
“Going forward, my priorities include deepening the dialogue between viewer and artwork: creating immersive experiences rather than simply pieces hung on a wall. I’m interested in exploring more three-dimensional spaces, possibly installations, spaces that people can move through or around, where the fluid surfaces or distortion of perception extend beyond the canvas.
On the technical front, I want to experiment more with materials that respond to environmental conditions such as light or temperature, maybe even interactive elements. Perhaps working with translucent or reflective surfaces, or exploring augmented reality or projection in combination with painted surfaces, to amplify perception.
Conceptually, I’m interested in pushing the boundaries of abstraction further: perhaps incorporating more of time, memory, or ephemeral states. Also, exploring how perception is altered under stress, in climate, in social upheaval, or in pandemics, and capturing that instability. I want to take more risks: allowing work to be less controlled, embracing failure more intimately, and letting process show in raw form.” Sabrina Puppin concluded
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