Sarah Sze's 'Feel Free' Exhibition: A Journey Through Perception and Memory
Renowned mixed-media artist Sarah Sze has unveiled her latest exhibition, Feel Free, at Gagosian Beverly Hills, presenting a compelling collection that delves into the complexities of modern life in an era dominated by digital imagery. The showcase, which runs until 28 February, features 13 meticulously crafted pieces, including 11 substantial art objects and two immersive video installations, each designed to challenge and engage viewers on multiple levels.
Artworks That Speak and Shift
The exhibition's paintings are notably large-scale, with some measuring up to 8 feet by 16 feet, commanding attention through their intricate details and vibrant compositions. Sze, celebrated for her mastery of collage, employs landscapes as a foundational framework, but then transforms them into dynamic scenes that feel both recognisable and strikingly novel. In a recent video interview, she explained her artistic philosophy: "I'm always interested in talking with architecture and planning out how you can have an experience that unravels over time." This approach encourages visitors to actively interpret the works, creating a dialogue between the art and the observer.
Sze's creations are inspired by the contemporary societal landscape, where the proliferation of smartphone images, AI-generated deepfakes, and widespread misinformation has led to a sense of disorientation. She reflects on this phenomenon, stating, "I feel like we've become so preoccupied with images outside of our eyes. How do we place ourselves in a world that constantly feels like it's shifting all the time?" Her paintings aim to mirror this instability, inviting viewers to constantly reorient themselves within the visual narratives.
Colour, Light, and Personal Narratives
The six central paintings in Feel Free are chromatically cohesive, bathed in the hues of dusk and dawn—ultramarines, lavenders, pastel yellows, and icy blues—accented with bursts of light reminiscent of star clusters. Subtle elements, such as a pair of hands spreading cards or a shadowy fox darting across the canvas, add layers of intrigue. Broad, jagged vertical bands intersect with delicate, skittering lines, creating a paradoxical effect of constant movement within a contained whole. Sze describes this tension: "I want there to be this experience where you are teetering all the time—disoriented, then oriented, then disoriented again. A work of art is finished when everything teeters."
One of the video installations, Sleepers, draws from deeply personal experiences. It combines the escalating terror of Sze's near-drowning incident, captured through her own recorded breathing, with the contemplative intimacy of watching her daughters sleep. She shares, "I had a near-drowning experience, and I realized I was in trouble when I could hear myself gasping. The idea that your body can talk to you is important for that piece." Visually, the installation uses footage of her sleeping daughters, exploring themes of motherhood, time's passage, and fleeting moments of calm.
Historical Influences and Creative Joy
In developing Feel Free, Sze found inspiration in 19th-century pioneers Eadweard Muybridge and Étienne-Jules Marey, whose studies of animal movement revolutionised visual perception. She notes, "Muybridge and Marey were really interesting to me; they used images to prove something physical in the world, to see it in a way we might not notice otherwise. Art can be a tool for sharpening how we see the world." This historical connection underscores her goal of encouraging audiences to look beyond the surface of today's image-saturated reality.
Unlike some of her previous works that involved significant struggle, Sze found great pleasure in creating this body of work, entering a flow state where intuition guided her process. "There was a lot of pleasure in making the work," she recalls. "I really enjoyed making them, and I think that joy probably comes out in them. I did things that were strange for me, and one thing just led to the next." This sense of creative freedom is palpable throughout the exhibition, as paintings and videos meld seamlessly to offer a holistic experience.
Art as a Mirror to the Mind
Ultimately, Sze hopes that Feel Free will serve as a catalyst for introspection, helping audiences tap into their own memories and cognitive processes. She believes, "Paintings are super important right now because they are vehicles to see things in our own heads." Through continual deconstruction and reconstruction, her works illuminate how our perception of the world is itself a creative act, shaped by the myriad images we consume daily. "That becomes a subject of the show," Sze concludes, "how an artwork can be not only a way to see the world but also an active way of seeing how we construct images. Hopefully, that idea is being activated."
The exhibition at Gagosian Beverly Hills stands as a testament to Sze's innovative vision, offering a profound exploration of art's role in navigating the complexities of contemporary life.
