Laura Sanders
Shifting Baselines
Exhibition on view through December 18th, 2020
Goddess, 2020, Oil on canvas, 18 x 14 inches
Goddess is a play on the traditional portrait with a ecofeminist point of view. Art historically, the oval miniature portrait represents the 16th elites, mainly in France and England, which then spread across Europe in the 18th century until the development of daguerreotypes and photography. The sitter and the act of getting a portrait made was seen as quite intimate and was typically given to a loved one or a promise of one. In Goddess we see this transformed into a modern-day commentary with the individual identity denied. Rather, the title Goddess, is a nod to the role of women and how they are viewed. The dappled sunlight across the face is a remarkable study of light and its effect on the figure and the ever-present natural environment.
Human, 2020, Oil on canvas, 19 x 13 inches
Human. The light and environment overwhelmingly tattoo the subject in this work. Here we see the human quality of the female subject and how light exposes our every detail and can create new details in the moment or the movement of the air. Sanders’ paints every detail so delicately it looks like a photograph at first glance. Her gaze is muted by the strong light and thick shadows leaving the expression up for interpretation.