Through dense thickets of florals rendered in watercolor and colored pencil, a woman attempts to find her footing. Enmeshed in vines and leaves, this nude protagonist can be seen cradling a child or tending to another matter, her surroundings obscuring the particulars of her body and actions.
These vibrant works are part of a semi-autobiographical series by Sarah Ann Weber, who marks two momentous occasions: the birth of her daughter and her move from Los Angeles, where she lived for a decade, to her hometown of Chicago. Titled I Know Her, this body of work refers to the artist herself, her child, and the stark differences between the two landscapes.
Weber explores these significant changes through works teeming with growth. Whereas Los Angeles is dry and warm much of the year, Chicago cycles through all four seasons, sometimes seemingly within the same week. Contrasts between these locales arise through bright, tropical palettes alongside muted, winter fields in shades of gray and blue.
Within these lush atmospheres, splotches of watercolor and vivid florals subsume any definitive boundaries. Drawing on the traditions of window paintings and portraits depicting mother and child, the artist nests architectural structures and tender, familial moments within her largely botanical scenes. All seem to acquiesce to the rapidly evolving environment, nodding to the inevitability of change and renewal inside and out.
I Know Her runs through January 10 at Anat Ebgi Gallery in Los Angeles. Find more from Weber on her website and Instagram.
