SARAH STEVENSON | IN THE EYE

2024 | SARAH STEVENSON
IN THE EYE
TORONTO
Jul 6 - Aug 17, 2024



Sarah Stevenson - Without Fire, 2023
Wire, fishing line, acrylic paint
98 3/8 x 45 1/4 x 45 1/4 in. (250 x 115 x 115 cm)
suspension height from lowest point: 10 cm

Blouin Division is pleased to present In the Eye an exhibition of new works by Sarah Stevenson.

Stevenson’s work has always been concerned with containment and transparency.
Over the past several years, the artist has been using simple materials, thread or fishing line and wire, to produce voluminous forms, which have almost no substance; each piece is a shape whose surface contours are mapped by a grid of coloured lines, forming a fragile network containing empty space. These structures are suspended from above, usually by a single line, so that they nearly touch the floor but are only minimally dependent on their surroundings for support.

The process of constructing the objects involves the production of full scale diagrams and a simple geometric system to convert them to three dimensions. Because they are constructed only of linear elements, the objects resemble line drawings in space. The forms can be nearly invisible, depending on lighting and background, so that viewers must sometimes move around them in order to be able to perceive them. The empty interior, which is visible through the grid, is as much a part of the piece as the physical materials that define and enclose it.

These works are essentially abstract; they are variations on shapes such as spheres, ovoids, or cones. But they are inspired by, or they sometimes suggest, organic forms; insects, sea creatures, body parts or natural phenomena; smoke, fire, clouds, weather systems.