Antlers, Glass Mark Exhibit Of California Sculptor In College Park

Los Angeles sculptor explores racism, sexism in “Still ...” on display at the David C. Driskell Center.

by Virginia Terhune, Maryland Gazette

Always looking for new materials, Los Angeles sculptor Alison Saar heard that an organization she knew needed to sell a pile of antlers cast off by deer in Montana. So she bought 200 pairs.

Eager to work with glass, she spent time at the Pilchuck Glass School near Seattle learning about the medium’s malleable properties and how to incorporate them into her work.

Both antlers and glass are integral to the 11 sculptures in her exhibit “Still ...” coming to the David C. Driskell Center at the University of Maryland, College Park.

In the exhibit, Saar, who is biracial, explores issues of racial identity and bigotry as well as sexism, ageism and love and loss.

She explores the meanings of the word still, in one piece using tubing and glass to suggest alcohol and moonshine as a metaphor for distilling down “to the essence of racism and why we can’t [seem] to go beyond it.”

Saar will give a gallery talk about her work at the “Still ...” opening reception on Thursday. The exhibit will run through Dec. 13.

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