Sasha Gordon: Surrogate Self
Photo Credit: William Jess Laird.
The first solo museum presentation for rising artist Sasha Gordon opened at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami (ICA Miami) this December, debuting a suite of new paintings and recent work. The exhibition demonstrates the ongoing evolution of Gordon’s signature, surrealistic practice, which explores the complexities of bodily experience in hyperrealistic detail. Coinciding with Miami Art Week and curated by Alex Gartenfeld, ICA Miami’s Irma & Norman Braman Artistic Director, Sasha Gordon's exhibition features a Suite of New Paintings showcasing Gordon’s Hyperrealistic Forms and Innovative Explorations of the Politics of Representation, and is on view at ICA Miami through April 28, 2024.
Often depicting herself, Gordon is keenly aware of the art historical themes of portraiture and self-portraiture, and of the politics of representation. She approaches these categories with inventiveness and humor and a unique ability to make fantasy real. Gordon’s images survey a wide range of emotional possibilities while exploring the rich plurality of her identity as a queer Asian American woman. Depicting intimacy, empowerment, vulnerability, and the feminine form, her work critically engages issues of self-image, racial prejudice, interpersonal relationships, and the attending psychological impacts, while also exhibiting discomfort.
Sasha Gordon, Princess, 2023. Oil on canvas, 182.8 x 243.8cm (72 x 96in). Copyright Sasha Gordon. Courtesy the artist; Stephen Friedman Gallery, London and New York; and Matthew Brown, Los Angeles. Photo: Mark Blower.
In her most recent works, including new paintings debuting at ICA Miami, Gordon depicts herself in a condition of becoming. Transforming into animal, botanical, and geological phenomena, Gordon enacts the process of objectifying bodies, while examining personal experiences of alienation and challenging taboos and standards of representation. Through these avatars she portrays the othering of unconventional human bodies and examines her own experiences of alienation, while questioning the logic of certain limiting social norms.
Volcano, 2023. Oil on canvas, 243.8 x 182.8cm (96 x 72in). Copyright Sasha Gordon. Courtesy the artist; Matthew Brown Gallery, Los Angeles and Stephen Friedman Gallery. Photo: Mark Blower.
Among the recent works featured in the exhibition is Volcano (2023), in which Gordon explores themes of transformation and confronts the demonization of women's emotions. While anger among men is typically perceived as a manifestation of strength or power, in women it is often labelled a sign of instability. With this painting, the artist claims her right to express rage, reimagining herself as an erupting volcano; gritting her teeth, she paints herself overflowing with lava-like emotion.
Installation view: "Sasha Gordon: Surrogate Self," at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami. Dec 5,2023-Mar 10, 2024. Photograph Zachary Balber.
“Sasha Gordon is a leader in the field of contemporary painting, with a unique ability to communicate complex personal and cultural issues through her exquisite and inventive technique. We are proud to bring together new and very recent works in order to amplify Sasha's ideas about identity, objectification, and the politics of representation,” said Gartenfeld. “As Gordon’s debut solo museum exhibition, this presentation exemplifies ICA Miami’s commitment to providing the first institutional platform for important artists, and providing early-career contextualization through scholarship and conversation.”
Alongside Sasha Gordon this fall, ICA Miami opens a robust roster of solo exhibitions and installations, including a three-decade survey of renowned conceptual artist Charles Gaines; a presentation of works by under-recognized painter Ahmed Morsi; a major new installation by Tau Lewis, the 2023 recipient of the Ezratti Family Prize for Sculpture; and a new monumental photographic installation by Anne Collier, animating the museum’s dramatic central staircase. Image: Sasha Gordon, Like Froth (2022). Oil on canvas. 60 x 48 in. 152.4 x 121.9 cm. Courtesy Matthew Brown Gallery.
About Sasha Gordon
Sasha Gordon (b. 1998, Somers, New York) lives and works in New York. She graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), Providence, in 2021. Solo exhibitions include “Hands of Others,” Jeffrey Deitch, New York (2022) and “Enters Thief,” Matthew Brown, Los Angeles (2021). Her work is included in the collections of ICA Miami; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Support Lead support for Sasha Gordon is provided by Matthew and Stephanie Herfield. Major support is provided by the Nicoll Family Fund. Additional support is provided by Stefanie, Andrew, and Rebecca Reed, in honor of Evan J Reed. Exhibitions at ICA Miami are supported by the Knight Foundation.
About the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami
The Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami (ICA Miami) is dedicated to promoting continuous experimentation in contemporary art, advancing new scholarship, and fostering the exchange of art and ideas throughout the Miami region and internationally. Through an energetic calendar of exhibitions and programs and its collection, ICA Miami provides an important international platform for the work of local, emerging, and under-recognized artists and advances the public appreciation and understanding of the most innovative art of our time. Launched in 2014, ICA Miami opened its new permanent home in Miami’s Design District on December 1, 2017. The museum’s central location positions it as a cultural anchor within the community and enhances its role in developing cultural literacy throughout the Miami region. The museum offers free admission, providing audiences with open, public access to artistic excellence year-round.
The Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, is located at 61 NE 41st Street, Miami, Florida 33137. For more information, visit here or follow the museum on Instagram, You Tube, and Facebook
