‘Alison Saar: Of Aether and Earthe,’ a Survey Spread Across Two Institutions, Presents Female Forms That ‘Activate Legacies of Bodily and Spiritual Survival’ by Victoria L. Valentine, Culture Type
DUALITY IS A CONSISTENT THEME in the work of Alison Saar. The multidisciplinary artist has long centered the female body and the wonder of nature in her practice, using figurative forms to explore cultural narratives and contemporary events. In her latest exhibition, she considers the binaries of body and spirit, earth and air and the intersections of gender and race, space and time.
The Armory Center for the Arts in Pasadena and the Benton Museum of Art at Pomona College are partnering to present “Alison Saar: Of Aether and Earthe,” in the greater Los Angeles area. On view at both museums, the exhibition features paintings, drawings, sculptures, and installations, dating from the early 1980s to 2020.
“Within these works, Saar measures social memory and cultural norms, using sophisticated visual language to bring attention to the gaps where narratives have been forgotten or ignored. Using rough-hewn forms and humble found materials, she creates resilient female bodies that activate legacies of bodily and spiritual survival,” co-curator Rebecca McGrew wrote in “Alison Saar’s Radical Art of Sustenance,” her opening essay in the exhibition catalog.