Courtesy of Heller Gallery, Pamela Sabroso and Alison Siegel.
Back in the Renaissance, a common artisan’s technique was to cast forms from life: crustaceans in silver, snakes in clay. This was far more than a shortcut; it represented nothing less than a fusion of artificialia and naturalia, the made and the grown. This direct technique, and the intellectual framework that comes with it, is revivified in the collaborative work of Pamela Sabroso and Alison Siegel. The duo began collaborating in 2014, working principally at UrbanGlass, the east coast’s most important facility for creative expression in the medium. As densely populated as a sixteenth-century grotto, as animated as a Japanese manga, their work fairly bursts with color and exuberance.
Like other makers of their generation—such as Misha Kahn and Katie Stout—they are unafraid to toy with kitsch references. Grass skirts, tassels, and tiny blossoms sprout unpredictably from their forms, which are largely vessel-oriented, though often standing akilter on asymmetrical feet. Despite the deep roots of their work, Sabroso and Siegel’s pieces are entirely of the present moment: a searching exploration of natural forces, at a time when the environment is itself in turmoil.
Psychedelic Corn Smut in glass, wire, moldable epoxy, thread, and synthetic hair. Designed and made by Pamela Sabroso and Alison Siegel, USA, 2020.
9" L x 5.5" W x 3.5" H
22.9cm L x 14cm W x 8.9cm H
SG2302
Courtesy of Heller Gallery