Sally Saul 


 

In the Woods

 

November 13, 2020 - January 30 2021

 

Rachel Uffner Gallery is pleased to present In the Woods, Sally Saul’s second solo exhibition with the gallery. Focused on new ceramic sculptures, this show demonstrates the artist’s ongoing interest in the monumental themes of innocence, mortality, and vulnerability, and reads as a personal meditation on the world as it exists today.

 

Reflecting on this body of work, Saul states: “The sculptures for this show span several months living with the coronavirus and the attendant disbelief, anxieties, and sorrow for the death of thousands of Americans. Thus, to some extent, the work reflects the tensions of these months but also I hope some of the small pleasures which have taken on a new luster.”

 

The sculptures presented here embody a spectrum of emotions — while some take up a more joyful, humorous tone, others appear menacing. Assault, for example, depicts two empty flower vases engaged in a violent embrace. In Troubled Waters, a female figure, surrounded by encroaching and ominous waves, glances up at the viewer with a fearful, worrisome expression. Works like Hard Times, a self-portrait of the artist in a protective mask, and Caution, a standing figure who seems to be reaching out to ensure proper distancing, directly reference realities of the pandemic. Yet Saul is able to interject a sense of humanity into the heavy discussion with her characteristic wit. Details such as a swath of red lipstick painted atop the protective mask in her portrait and the animated facial expression of the standing figure, bring lightness to a perilous situation.

 

Saul continues her statement with an anecdote about her garden: “This summer, a friend constructed for me a small perfect vegetable garden, one of these pleasures, which I tended. At some point, a cloud of insects descended. Some were good, such as a praying mantis, some bad from my standpoint... A small world of life and death contained within an 11 foot square plot began to fascinate me and give me a new respect for the life we rarely notice.