Alison Saar
STILL... Past
Informed by artistic traditions from the Americas to Africa and beyond, and by her mixed racial upbringing, Alison Saar fuses her paradoxical responses to the black-and-white delineations of political and social forces into a powerful, visual, and kinesthetic tension. Saar uses the history and associations of her materials, everyday experience, African art and ritual, Greek mythology, and the stark sculptural tradition of German Expressionism to infuse her work with an intensity that challenges cultural and historic references and stereotypes. Through a process of self-scrutiny and introspection, Saar forcefully investigates elements of marginalization and discrimination to present poetic responses as to how these historical burdens can be transformed, and how symbolic atonement, and even some measure of redemption, can be imagined.
This exhibition was organized by the Ben Maltz Gallery and Otis College of Art and Design. It was funded in part by the Contemporary Collectors – Orange County.
