In Victorine, By Herself Sanders’ boldly reinterprets Manet’s iconic Le dejeuner sur l’herbe, a painting considered one of the first pieces of Modern art. When it was unveiled in 1863, it led an artistic revolution. It was famously rejected by the Paris Salon and was subsequently exhibited in the Salon des Refuses alongside James McNeill Whistler’s Symphony in White, No. 1, The White Girl. The size alone puts it in a history painting category, yet the subject of a nude prostitute lunching in the woods with fully clothed dandies of the day makes for a searing social critique. Laura Sanders presents her Victorine dressed and eliminates the men altogether, thereby asserting her own social critique for the 21st century. Victorine does not require men to define her as she takes her rightful place in nature. With a plastic basket replacing the organic nature of a 19th century picnic basket, Sanders underscores her ecofeminist point of view.

Artist Talk: Laura Sanders and Otis Kwame Kye Quaicoe

Otis Kwame Kye Quaicoe (b. 1990 in Accra, Ghana) is an artist living and working in Portland, Oregon. Quaicoe attended Ghanatta College of Art and Design, Accra, Ghana in 2008. Represented by Roberts projects in LA, Quaicoe’s paints his figures full of strength and honor.