Sydney Cortright

b. 1989, Santa Barbara, CA

Lives and works in Humboldt County, CA

Sydney Cortright is an abstract painter living and working in Northern California. She studied field ecology at the University of Montana, an education that continues to inform her close engagement with the natural world. Drawing from field guides, firsthand observation, and time spent outdoors, Cortright looks to butterflies, beetles, fish, fossils, and other natural forms as points of departure for her paintings. An avid fly fisher and outdoorswoman, she considers direct experience with the landscape integral to her practice. Working across acrylic, ink, Flashe, and watercolor on muslin, cotton, and paper, Cortright creates fluid abstractions that balance deliberate mark-making with the unpredictable behavior of pigment and water. Her process often involves manipulating wet surfaces through pouring, brushing, dripping, and physically moving the canvas, allowing elements of control and chance to coexist. In 2023, Cortright presented Scale Wing, her first solo exhibition with Simchowitz Gallery in Los Angeles. Her work has also been included in group exhibitions in the United States and internationally, including presentations with Galleri Christoffer Egelund in Copenhagen and Simchowitz’s Hill House in Pasadena.