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ExhibitionMirror, Mirror: The Prints of Alison Saar, from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation

Jun 5–Aug 8, 2021

Alison Saar (American (b. 1956)) Cotton Eater, edition 1/6, 2014 woodcut on found sugar sack quilt 72 x 34 in. 2015.47

Alison Saar is known not only for her powerful sculptures; she is also a master of the art of printmaking. In both forms, she employs a personal vocabulary informed by history, race, and mythology. Her influences range from ancient Europe, Africa, and American folk art. She is especially drawn to the Kouros, an ancient Greek sculptural form of a man in the diametric pose of stillness and movement. Saar’s works narrate stories of the African American experience, moving effortlessly from the personal to the political. In many of her works, she charts the tragic history of slavery in America, but her figures symbolize defiance and strength. Other recurring images are informed by jazz, romance, and desire. Through decades of work, Alison Saar has used the power of art to tell stories, and especially ones that matter.

 

About Jordan D. Schnitzer and his Family Foundation

At age 14, Jordan D. Schnitzer bought his first work of art from his mother’s Portland, Oregon contemporary art gallery, beginning a lifelong avocation as a collector. He began collecting contemporary prints and multiples in earnest in 1988. Today, the collection exceeds 19,000 works and includes many of today’s most-important contemporary artists. It has grown to be the country’s largest private print collection. He and his Family Foundation generously lend work from the collections to qualified institutions, with over 110 exhibitions to date and works exhibited at over 150 museums.