Sally Saul: People and Vases
June 27 – August 4, 2023
Opening: Tuesday, June 27, 6:00 – 8:00 pm

Venus Over Manhattan
39 Great Jones Street
New York, NY 10012

(New York, NY) – Beginning Tuesday, June 27, Venus Over Manhattan is pleased to present Sally Saul: People and Vases, an exhibition of new work by the Hudson Valley based artist. Comprising a selection of exuberant ceramics imbued with the artist’s signature blend of whimsy and sensitivity, this show marks Saul’s first exhibition with the gallery since it announced representation of the artist in 2022. These ceramic sculptures—vessels, human figures, flora, and fauna—illustrate the continued development of Saul’s singular, decades-long ceramic practice. Presently Saul’s work can be seen on view in “Funk You Too! Humor and Irreverence in Ceramic Sculpture” at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York as well as highlighted in two recent books, Clay Pop, published by Rizzoli this March and Funk You Too! the catalog published by MAD in conjunction with the museum’s exhibition. Sally Saul: People and Vases will be on view at 39 Great Jones Street from June 17 through Friday, August 4, 2023.

Saul's artworks evoke a poignant sentiment, whether it be an uneasy-looking female bust or a sculpture of a spider the size of a child's hand. With their textural nature, intimate scale, and colorful palette, her ceramics possess an endearing and lively quality. They seem to exude a potential kinetic force, as if her small birds could take flight or chipmunks could suddenly scurry off their pedestals. While Sally Saul's artistic practice alludes to Pop Art and Abstract Expressionism, it also manifests as a forthright and idiosyncratic approach that resonates with the traditions of Folk Art.

During the 1970s, while pursuing her master's degree at San Francisco State University, Saul was exposed to the vibrant arts scene of the Bay Area. This experience fueled her passion for artmaking. However, it was her relocation to Austin, Texas, in 1981 that proved transformative when she enrolled in her first ceramics program. Drawing inspiration from everyday life, Saul's sculptures strike a delicate balance between playfulness and subversiveness.

With a penchant for depicting the mundane and the bucolic, Saul's artwork exudes a deep sense of spirit and celebrates the intricate vivacity of earthly existence. Whether it's a small, affectionate sculpture of her husband in his pajamas or a resolute bird perched on a tree stump, her works exude a spirited presence that encapsulates the complexities of life.

ABOUT SALLY SAUL

Sally Saul (b. 1946, Albany, NY) is a contemporary ceramicist. Often working from personal memory, Sally Saul’s practice is focused on small scale ceramic sculptures. Through human and animal figures, Saul creates personal yet arresting characters and vignettes which explore themes related to the complexities of daily life. Anchored by a longstanding interest in personal memory, Saul’s sculptures evoke feelings associated with time and place to explore patterns of remembrance. Her work has engaged with themes such as gender, innocence, mortality, and the human condition.

Born in 1946, Sally Saul grew up in Ithaca New York. She earned a BA from the University of Colorado and later graduated from San Francisco State University in 1973 with an MA in American Literature. While living in San Francisco, she was exposed to the Bay Area visual arts movement. Informed by her time in San Francisco, Saul’s formal practice, and particular focus in ceramics, took shape while living in Austin, TX, where she undertook studies in ceramics at the University of Texas.

Saul’s work is presently on view in “Funk You Too! Humor and Irreverence in Ceramic Sculpture” at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York. Her work has the subject of numerous solo presentations, including recent exhibitions at Pioneer Works, Brooklyn; Almine Rech Gallery, Paris; Rachel Uffner Gallery, New York; Redbud Gallery, Houston; and Trans Avant Garde Gallery, Austin. Her first retrospective exhibition, “Blue Hills, Yellow Tree,” opened at Pioneer Works in Brooklyn in 2019. Saul’s work frequently features in group exhibitions, including recent presentations at Jeffrey Deitch Gallery, New York; Almine Rech Gallery, New York; Jack Hanley Gallery, New York; Nathalie Karg Gallery, New York, the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield; Venus Over Los Angeles, Los Angeles; Cuevas/Tilleard Projects, New York; and CANADA, New York. In 2017, her New York solo debut, “Sally Saul: Knit of Identity,” was reviewed by The New York Times and Hyperallergic. Her 2020-2021 exhibition, “Sally Saul: In the Woods,” was reviewed by The New Yorker. Saul lives and works in Germantown, New York.
 

For additional information about the exhibition and availability, please contact the gallery at info@venusovermahattan.com