Sara Berman: Lapdogs and Fools

The exhibition features a close-knit and captivating collection of recent oil paintings on linen and a short film collaboration with filmmaker Clare Macdonald.

Working with the trope of the Harlequin as "Trickster Whore," Berman examines the societal constructs of the female experience. Continuing her exploration and personification of the Harlequin within her paintings, Berman further reimagines herself as other various characters: the Pierrot, the Fool, the Hoodie, the Aviatrix, the Renaissance Man, and the Fencer. Berman uses these performative characters as a type of auto-fiction to further fuel a narrative that boldly seeks to challenge the construct of the female experience and rejects the objectification of women. 

The delicacy of the presentation, grounded in soft hues, graceful brushwork, and filigreed layering, supposes a gentle aesthetic that belies the violent physicality of its making and the immediacy of the figures themselves. Within the paintings, the figures are hidden in plain sight; caught in various poses and postures, assuming the gaze. The characters depicted convey a tragicomical gamut of emotions: fear, grace, longing, and loss, allowing for a confrontational but reflective visual engagement.

While primarily a painter, Berman’s practice also includes textiles, weaving, and the construction/ deconstruction of costumes (which often appear in the paintings and reflect her former career as a fashion designer). She also collaborates with filmmakers -- wherein such films become part of the fabric of the work. In her most recent collaborative film, entitled Lapdogs and Fools, Berman and filmmaker and fellow artist Clare Macdonald investigate the complex, wearing, sometimes intolerable conditions of existing as queer, non-male artists and mothers. Together, they realize a beautiful but absurd world where the rules of existence feel very real, and the endeavor of the central character to navigate this world is punishing and irrational.

Aiming to reflect our current times while incorporating historical influences, Berman's practice addresses the personal, the political, the celebration, and the horrors of being who we are as individuals in this moment of our collective history.