Alison Saar

Saar nació en Los Ángeles, California hija de una conocida artista afroestadounidense, Betye Saar y de Richard Saar, un conservador de arte.[2] Sus padres animaron a sus dos hijas a que fueran artistas y a mirar el arte en un sentido amplio. De niña visitó con sus padres los museos de la zona y tuvo acceso a gran cantidad de libros de arte. También fue iniciada en el Arte Marginal, en sitios como Simon Rodia's Watts Towers en Los Ángeles y Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village en Simi Valley. Durante el instituto, Alison empezó asistir a su padre en su trabajo de restauración. Tratar obras de culturas diferentes —‌ frescos chinos, momias egipcias y arte precolombino y africano —‌ enseñó a Alison las propiedades de variados materiales y diferentes técnicas y estéticas.

Saar obtuvo un BA del Scripps College (Claremont, CA) en 1978, habiendo estudiado Arte Africano y del Caribe con el Dr. Samella Lewis. Su tesis estuvo centrada en el arte popular afroestadounidense.[3] Obtuvo un MFA de Otis Art Institute[2] (Los Ángeles, CA) en 1981.[4]

La obra de Saar ha sido exhibida internacionalmente[5] con exposiciones clave en el UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History, L.A. Louver Gallery, Phyllis Kind Gallery en New York, y en el Pasadena Museum of California Art. Fue artista en residencia en el Dartmouth College.[6]

Sus esculturas e instalaciones exploran temas de la diáspora cultural africana y la espiritualidad y sus estudios de arte latinoamericano, Caribeño, Africano y Religión han informado su trabajo.[7] Su fascinación por el arte popular y su habilidad para construir oasis de belleza con objetos de desecho son evidentes en sus esculturas y pinturas. Sus esculturas están marcadas por su candor emocional, y por contrastar materiales y mensajes que imbuyen su trabajo con un alto grado de sustrato cultural.[8]

La crítica Rebecca Epstein escribió en referencia a su exposición "Coup" de 2006 “[Saar] demuestra gran habilidad con diferentes materiales (bronce, cuero, alquitrán, madera). Mezcla temas de identidad personal y cultural cuando modela las medidas de cuerpos de mujer (a menudo las suyas).”[9]

Ha recibido el reconocimiento de la John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, es Artist Fellowship de la National Endowment for the Arts, y de la ciudad de Los Ángeles (C.O.L.A.).[10] En 2012 fue nombrada Fellow de United States Artists.[11]

Cronología de premios:[5]

• 1984: Artist Fellowship, National Endowment for the Arts; Artist in Residence, The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY
• 1985: Engelhard Award, Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, MA; Artist in Residence, Roswell Museum of Art, Roswell, N.M; Artist, Fellowship, National Endowment for the Arts
• 1986: Artist in Residence, November, Washington Project for the Arts
• 1988: Artist Fellowship, National Endowment for the Arts
• 1989: John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship
• 1999: Distinguished Alumnus of The Year, Otis College of Art and Design, Los Ángeles, CA
• 2003: Distinguished Alumna Award, Scripps College, Claremont, CA; Artist in residence, Hopkins Center, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH
• 2004: Received the COLA Grant, Los Ángeles, CA
• 2005: Awarded the Excellence in Design Prize by the New York City Art Commission, New York, NY

[13] Se incluyen sus exposiciones individuales en Ben Maltz Gallery, Otis College of Art and Design. Review in Art in America.; Feallen and Fallow, Solo Exhibition, Madison Square Park, NY, Figge Art Museum, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, y Alison Saar: Bearing – MoAD Museum of African Diaspora[14]

Cronología de exposiciones:

• 2008
  • "Alison Saar: Hither", LA Louver, Venice, CA (solo)
  • "Alison Saar Sculpture and Works on Paper", Rochester Contemporary Art Center, Rochester, NY (solo)
• 2007
  • "Alison Saar: Whither", Phyllis Kind Gallery, New York, NY (solo)
  • "Day and Night", LA Louver, Venice, CA
  • "Artists of Color-Paintings, Prints, Collage, Sculpture, and Quilts by African American Artists", Peltz Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
• 2006
  • "Alison Saar: Coup”, LA Louver, Venice, CA (solo)
• 2005
  • “Alison Saar”, Pasadena City College, CA (solo)
• 2003
  • “Alison Saar: Tete a Tete”, Springfield Art Museum, Springfield, MO
  • "Lost/Found" Phyllis Kind Gallery, New York, NY (solo)
  • "Alison Saar: Artist in Residence", Jaffe-Friede&Strauss Galleries, Hopkins Center, Dartmouth College, NH (solo)
  • "Topsy Turvy, Sculpture by Alison Saar", ASU Art Museum, Tempe, AR (solo)
  • "Bittersweet" Jan Baum Gallery, Los Ángeles, CA (solo)
• 2002
  • "Alison Saar", Muse Boribana, DakArt Biennial, Dakar, Senegal (solo)
• 2001
  • “(Post)Teriors”, Phyllis Kind Gallery, New York, NY (solo)
  • “Alison Saar”, Jan Baum Gallery, Los Ángeles, CA (solo)
  • "Exploring Identity: Work by Contemporary African American Women", Maier Museum of Art, Randolph-Macon Woman's College, Lynchburg, VA
• 2000
  • "The Swamp: On the Edge of Eden" Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL (solo)
  • "Strength and Diversity: A Celebration of African-American Artists", Carpenter Center, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA (solo)
  • "Picturing the Amazon", New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, NY (solo)
  • "Departures: 11 Artists at the Getty", The Getty Center, Los Ángeles, CA
  • "Passages: Contemporary Art in Transition", Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY;Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, IL;Miami Art Museum, Miami, FL
  • "Body Politics: The Female Image in Luba Art and the Sculpture of Alison Saar," The UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History, Los Ángeles, CA
• 1999
  • "Alison Saar: Terra Incognita", Phyllis Kind Gallery, New York, NY (solo)
  • "Alison Saar: Recent Work", Herron Gallery, Indiana University, Indianápolis, IN (solo)
  • "Alison Saar," Santa Monica Museum of Art, Santa Monica, CA (solo)
  • "Political Visions", Fassbender Gallery, Chicago, IL (solo)
  • "Bearing Witness: Contemporary Works by African-American Women Artists", Spelman College Museum of Fine Art, Atlanta, GA; Fort Wayne Museum of Art, Fort Wayne, IN; Polk Museum of Art, Lakeland, FL; The Columbus Museum, Columbus, GA; African-American Museum, Dallas, TX; Minnesota Museum of American Art, St. Paul, MN; Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston, SC; Ulrich Museum of Art, Wichita, KS; Portland Museum of Art, Portland, ME;Museum of Fine Arts, Houston,TX; African-American History and Culture Museum, Fresno, CA
• 1998
  • "Sculpture by Alison Saar", The Trustees of The Saint-Gaudens Memorial, Cornish, NH (solo)
  • "The Tip of the Iceberg: A Response to New York Museums", Dorfman Projects, New York, NY
  • "American Stories", Setagaya Art Museum, Setagaya, Japan
• 1997
  • "Alison Saar: Hairesies", Phyllis Kind Gallery, New York, NY (solo)
  • "Alison Saar", Jan Baum Gallery, Los Ángeles, CA (solo)
  • "Alison Saar", List Gallery, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA (solo)
  • "Alison Saar", Laumeier Sculpture Park, St. Louis, MO (solo)
• 1996
  • "Alison Saar: Strange Fruit", Phyllis Kind Gallery, New York, NY (solo)
  • "Alison Saar: The Woods Within", The Brooklyn Museum, The Grand Lobby, Brooklyn, NY (solo)
  • "Myth and Magic", California Center for the Arts Museum, Escondido, CA
  • "Subjective Vision", Kipp Gallery, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, PA
  • "A Labor of Love", The New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, NY
• 1995
  • "Imaginary Beings", Exit Art, New York, NY
  • "Art with Conscience", The Newark Museum, Newark, NJ
  • "Twentieth Century American Sculpture at The White House", The White House, Washington D. C.
• 1993
  • Freedman Gallery Albright College, Reading, PA
  • Biennial Exhibition, Whitney Museum of American Art New York, NY
• 1992
  • Installation, Neuberger Museum, Purchase, NY
  • Maryland Institute of Art Baltimore, MD
  • Cleveland Center for Contemporary Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Roving Installation, Museum of Contemporary Art Baltimore, MD
• 1991
  • Palos Verdes Art Center, Palos Verdes, CA
• 1990
  • "Secrets, Dialogues, Revelations: The Art of Betye and Alison Saar", Wight Art Gallery, University of California, Los Ángeles, CA 
  • "Celebrations: Sights and Sounds of Being", Fisher Gallery, University of Southern California, Los Ángeles, CA
  • "The Decade Show: Frameworks of Identity in 1980s", New Museum; Studio Museum; Museum of Contemporary Hispanic Art: New York, NY
  • "Sculptural Revolution", Socrates Park, Long Island City, NY
  • Biennial Exhibition, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY
• 1989
  • Jamaica Arts Center, Jamaica, NY
• 1988
  • Socrates Park, New York, NY
  • The Queens Museum, New York, NY
  • Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
• 1986
  • Monique Knowlton Gallery, New York, NY
• 1985
  • Artpark Niagara Falls, NY
• 1983
  • Jan Baum Gallery Los Ángeles, CA
• 1982
  • Jan Baum Gallery Los Ángeles, CA

• Phyllis Kind Gallery, NYC
• L.A. Louver Gallery
• New York Foundation for the Arts: Interview with Alison Saar
• 2009 Half-Hour TV Interview on The Creative Community
• KCRW Art Talk with Edward Goldman, "The Painful Beauty of Alison Saar's Stories," 2012