Stories are foundational to Alison Saar’s sculptural practice. What began early in her art career as explorations of her connection to nature and place have evolved to more broadly incorporate a language that merges ethereal spaces of desire, faith and emotion with the physical realities of Black life. Saar, who earned a BFA from Scripps and an MFA from Otis, learned form from many of LA’s sculptural giants including assemblage artists John Outterbridge, Noah Purifoy and her mother Betye Saar. However, she carved out space for herself, working her chainsaw on rough- hewn figures that are sometimes covered in ceiling tin or cast in bronze because she believes the black body matters in aesthetic discourse and community ontology.
