Artists: Kristen Sanders and Vanessa Thill
Venue: Step Sister, New York, US
Date: May 6 – June 10, 2018
Photography: all images copyright and courtesy of the artist and Step Sister, New York
Step Sister is pleased to present a two person exhibition with artists Kristen Sanders and Vanessa Thill. Sanders paints imagined humanoids both prehistoric and futuristic. Acid yellows, greens and reds illuminate scenes of evolutionary self discovery. With references to markers of history like the Venus of Willendorf alongside modern ideas of artificial intelligence, her paintings examine how humanity is continually defined and redefined. Thill’s hanging sculptures are materially rich, combining pigments, toiletries, food stuffs and industrial products onto paper and left to dry. The results are corporal in form and rich in their residue of consumerism. These seemingly otherworldly works bear the traces of their making -stained, eroded and crystalized. Both artist’s works distill and occupy the past, present and future.
Kristen Sanders lives and works in Minneapolis, MN. She received her MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University. Recent exhibitions include Soft Origin (solo), Sadie Halie Projects, Minneapolis, MN, Small Objects : Part 1, Lacuna Gallery, Minneapolis, MN, Whateverbeing, Present Company, Brooklyn, NY and
Maternity Leave: Para-Natural Pregnancies at Sediment Arts in Richmond, VA.
Vanessa Thill lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. She received her BA from Barnard College at Columbia University. Recent exhibitions include Bivouac (solo), Bible, New York, NY, Chimera, No Place Gallery, Columbus, Ohio, Always First Demolition, Dispersed Holdings, New York, NY and Elaine, Let’s Get the Hell Out of Here, Nicelle Beauchene, New York, NY. Her writings have been published in Vice, Artforum, Art in America, and the Brooklyn Rail.
Kristen Sanders and Vanessa Thill, 2018, exhibition view, Step Sister, New York
Kristen Sanders, Head/Stone, 2018, Acrylic on canvas, 30 x 40 inches
Vanessa Thill, The Green Split (CTKO), 2018, Ink, fabric dye, sand, shampoo, engine degreaser, concrete pigment, glue, resin, and mixed media on paper; nylon rope, clay, and wool, 72 x 45 x 12 inches
Kristen Sanders, Figure Ax, 2018, Acrylic on canvas, 11 x 14 inches
Vanessa Thill, The Green Split (CTKO), 2018, Ink, fabric dye, sand, shampoo, engine degreaser, concrete pigment, glue, resin, and mixed media on paper; nylon rope, clay, and wool, 72 x 45 x 12 inches
Vanessa Thill, The Green Split (CTKO), 2018, Ink, fabric dye, sand, shampoo, engine degreaser, concrete pigment, glue, resin, and mixed media on paper; nylon rope, clay, and wool, 72 x 45 x 12 inches
Vanessa Thill, The Green Split (CTKO), 2018, Ink, fabric dye, sand, shampoo, engine degreaser, concrete pigment, glue, resin, and mixed media on paper; nylon rope, clay, and wool, 72 x 45 x 12 inches
Kristen Sanders, Figure Stone, 2018, Acrylic on canvas, 10 x 12 inches
Kristen Sanders, There In Its Entirety From the Beginning, 2018, Acrylic on canvas, 21.5 x 25.375 inches
Kristen Sanders, A Mirror on the Cave Wall, 2018, Acrylic on panel, 11 x 14 inches
Vanessa Thill, The Lanterns, 2018, Salt, spray paint, microbeads, spices, charcoal, coffee, wine, fake blood, fabric dye, glue, resin, and mixed media on paper; umbrella spokes, wire, and thread; light fixture, 24 x 30 x 30 inches
Vanessa Thill, The Lanterns, 2018, Salt, spray paint, microbeads, spices, charcoal, coffee, wine, fake blood, fabric dye, glue, resin, and mixed media on paper; umbrella spokes, wire, and thread; light fixture, 24 x 30 x 30 inches
Vanessa Thill, The Lanterns, 2018, Salt, spray paint, microbeads, spices, charcoal, coffee, wine, fake blood, fabric dye, glue, resin, and mixed media on paper; umbrella spokes, wire, and thread; light fixture, 24 x 30 x 30 inches
Vanessa Thill, The Lanterns, 2018, Salt, spray paint, microbeads, spices, charcoal, coffee, wine, fake blood, fabric dye, glue, resin, and mixed media on paper; umbrella spokes, wire, and thread; light fixture, 24 x 30 x 30 inches