Studio Visit with Sandra Sitron

Had a very pleasant visit to my friend Sandra Sitron's studio the other night. We drank some red wine and chatted about the new pieces she's currently working on in her Bushwick space. She recently returned from a residency in Estonia, and before that Finland, where this body of work began.



The tatteredness of the fabrics stirred a nostalgia in me. I was reminded of the sort of 70's looking fabric wall hangings of owls my mother used to have hanging in our house as a kid. There is a worn thinness, like a sheet or blanket that has been washed a million times but one refuses to dispose of, because its worn in the perfect way, and it gives you comfort. There is a maternal quality in a way. an earthiness, that doesn't go over board. Its balanced by the raw forms these things become.



As I studied the symmetrical but wonky forms, bugs came to mind. Bugs and leaves. One piece also looked to me like a newly hatched bird. The images just kept coming to me. One piece, that consists of a lot of small pieces arranged very spaced out from each other on the wall, looked to me like a medieval seal or shield. She informed that it was actually a canoe. I was really turned on by all of the imagery that was conjured in my mind, without them actually attempting to be any of those things. They are left open. And then getting up close and noticing all of the small details in the fabric and the stitching. very elegant and beautiful, but rough and assured. It was interesting to see fabric pieces that seem to have gestural marks in them. For some reason, it seemed to fit into my idea of Finland, even though I've never been there. There is a northern folkiness here.




Underneath this there is a subtle emotionality. The objects reveal themselves slowly, and make themselves vulnerable, make themselves into characters. Not unlike Sandra, who's eyes always seem to be communicating something different to you than what is coming out of her mouth. These pieces give off an otherworldliness. Like fossils from another planet. Or fossils from our planet- of organisms that were here billions of years before humans even began to be a possibility. the strange and simple things that we evolved from.

Blankets, wall hangings, insects, Scandanavian spirits, alien fossils, etc. There is plenty conjured here, a genuine viewing experience, much to take in. Sandra is lovely to talk with about her work. If you'd like to contact her regarding these pieces, her email is here: sandrasitron@gmail.com