PRESS RELEASE

In her second exhibition at the Rena Bransten Gallery, Spanish artist Amparo Sard will show works on paper, small sculptures, and a video which further explore themes of identity and confinement.  As in her earlier drawings, thousands of perforations in paper surfaces form her imagery in a fashion that has been compared to “pointillism” or “pixilated embroidery.”  Embossed portions of the paper are enhanced by the tiny voids depicting delicate white-on-white images of a female figure (Sard herself) or isolated body parts struggling against or from within the paper surface.  The show takes its title, “Spacing the Impasse,” from this physical or imaginary impasse within the small spaces of the picture plane. In the struggle, the woman’s indecision becomes her prison – Sard also uses glass walls, wooden boards, and water as metaphors for intractable situations the woman must negotiate. Her struggle with water is particularly engaging and the subject of the video piece. The exhibition offers a spare yet probing reminder of the role indecision plays in all our lives whether providing breathing room, promoting conflict resolution, or fostering acceptance and compliance. 

Sard was born in Mallorca, Spain and has exhibited extensively in international venues. Her work can be found in the collections of MoMA, New York; Guggenheim, New York; West Collection, Philadelphia; and Deutsche Bank, Berlin. She is currently a Professor of Fine Arts in Barcelona, Spain.