Alison Saar
# Alison Saar

Alison Saar (5 de febrero de 1956) es una escultora norteamericana, pintora y artista de instalación cuyo trabajo explora temas de la diáspora cultural africana y la espiritualidad.

## Infancia y educación

Saar nació en Los Ángeles, California hija de una conocida artista afroestadounidense, Betye Saar y de Richard Saar, un conservador de arte. 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. Obtuvo un MFA de Otis Art Institute (Los Ángeles, CA) en 1981.

## Trabajo

La obra de Saar ha sido exhibida internacionalmente 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.

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. 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.

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).”

## Premios

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.). En 2012 fue nombrada Fellow de United States Artists.

Cronología de premios:

* 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

## Exposiciones

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

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
