Opening Reception: Sarah Bowling: Quicksand

Sarah Bowling: Quicksand
opening reception: Friday, May 31, 6-8 pm
on view: May 31–August 3, 2024

Rule Gallery is excited to announce a solo exhibition of new work by Sarah Bowling entitled Quicksand. This will be Bowling’s second solo with the gallery and the first at our Denver location.

In her recent series, Quicksand, Sarah Bowling delves into the intricate complexities of the weight of a body, examining the interplay between physicality and emotion. Through this exploration, Bowling contemplates the poetics of a body’s memory, reflecting on the perpetual care and strength needed in bearing the weight of one’s physical form and the silent observation of the march of time.

Driven by the human physique’s inherent adaptability, Bowling employs a diverse range of mediums in her exhibition from painting to sculpture. Influenced by her personal commitment to bodybuilding, she intricately explores the body’s remarkable capacity for resilience and steadfast dedication to preserving its form. Through careful examination of the ever-evolving terrain of flesh and bone, she cultivates a profound appreciation for the dynamic nature of change. Her deliberate use of materials, such as plaster and paint, mimics the organic responses of our bodies to gravity and weight, resulting in a transformative process that mirrors the subtle yet inexorable effects of gravity. This manipulation of materials engenders a poignant visual narrative, wherein altered shapes emerge, reflecting human existence’s transient and fragile nature.

Within the works of ‘Quicksand,’ Bowling uses symbolism to understand how the body reacts to its surroundings, whether it be the embrace of skin, the embrace of clothing, or the embrace of another. She accomplishes this by creating plaster sculptures cast inside fabric molds capturing the essence of softness and security that envelops the being within. Her works vividly depict the subtle nuances of tension, manifested in pinched and wrinkled contours, each telling a visual tale of the subject’s journey.