The exhibition “Mirror Mirror” reflects the vast body of prints created by Alison Saar over the past 35 years. Addressing issues of race, gender and spirituality, her lithographs, etchings and woodblock prints are evocations of her sculptures, for which she is renowned. Her sculptures often depict powerful figures carved from wood or cast in bronze, that are articulated with found objects – material artifacts that enrich the work with a narrative all their own. As a practice maintained in connection to and in tandem with her sculpture making, Saar undertakes printmaking with the same tangible approach to unconventional materials and methods. Cast off objects like old chair backs and found ceiling tin become the foundations for etching or lithography plates. Carved wooden panels used for wood block prints echo similar techniques established in her hewn wooden forms. In addition to printing on paper, Saar also employs a variety of used fabrics like vintage handkerchiefs, old shop rags and antique sugar sacks that are layered, cut, sewn and collaged – empowering the content of the image while resisting the flat repetitive nature of the medium.
PAST EXHIBITIONS
University of North Texas // March 8 - May 11, 2019
Joy Pratt Markham Gallery, Walton Arts Center // May 28 - October 6, 2019
Weatherspoon Art Museum // November 2, 2019 - February 23, 2020
Toledo Museum of Art // June 23 - July 26, 2020
Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery, Scripps College // Aug 29 - December 6, 2020
UMass Amherst // February 4 - May 1, 2021