Sasha Pierce

A connecting thread between the artworks of Canada-based Sasha Pierce is literally thread: her works of the past fifteen years reference textiles, even though they are not textiles in themselves. With a highly ingenious approach to abstract painting, Pierce meticulously lays multi-colored lines of oil paint onto linen in dense, thread—like patterns. Using mathematical models for geometrical form as the starting point of her kaleidoscopic compositions, Pierce translates precise diagrams into tangible form. Pierce carefully squeezes vermicelli-thin strands of paint out of a plastic bag, then uses a ruler to shore up the strands against one another, not unlike how a reed pushes threads tightly together in a loom. In her hands paint is akin to sculptural material, her paintings easily mistaken for textiles or tapestries. Significantly however, Pierce succeeds in intensely activating both physical presence and optical perception. Shapes twist and refract. Variegated lines waver, bend and warp as we experience anew the parameters of visual perception. Surface pattern recedes in favor of individual form and color; yet overall geometry persists, and we recognize the impossibility of perceiving all patterns at once.

Submitted by Richard Heller Gallery