Courtesy of the artist and the Institute of Contemporary Art San José. Photo: Robert Divers Herrick.
“These are not just physical works. There’s a radiance here, as though we’re looking at visions of saints, not of the saints themselves, but of what they see when they behold the world ecstatically.”
-Alexander Nemerov
The ICA San José is thrilled to display a series of site-specific, bodily works by painter Sarah Blaustein. Installed in the front gallery, the work creates a full-sensory experience of being surrounded by her paintings. Present Tense, a series of sensuous, lush paintings, is made with permanent materials. The works evoke the feeling of giving life, creation, and the human condition. A viewer can get lost in the use of bold color, the seemingly wet, saturated surface and the push and pull of the picture plane. Using deeply saturated pigments and water, Blaustein paints the sensations she feels but can not see.
Working with the ICA San José, this spiritual installation is intended as a semi-Rothko Chapel, or sorts, conceived for long-looking solace and reflection. In this immersive space, the viewer may feel more present in their own thoughts, sensations, and be aware of their own humanity. Like a big exhale, the works bring one into the here and now.
