The current exhibition “You Are Never Alone” at Waterfall Arts in Belfast, shows the work of artists Sally Stanton, Emily Sabino, and Libby Sipe. Their collective work explores the profound connections between humanity, spirituality, and the natural world, creating a visual narrative that encourages introspection and contemplation of our shared human experience.
Standing in the glow of Stanton’s work is like looking into a dream – vibrant, bold colors clash and merge, with neons flooding the scene. Figures flatten, stretch and bulge in a hypnotic dance. The clusters of strange and wonderful characters gather in the composition like crowds on a city street, each undoubtedly unique and profoundly anonymous. Stanton builds these figurative landscapes with an additive and subtractive process, using a mixture of acrylic paints, watercolor pencils, graphite, and collage.
Sabino's work comments on our relationship with nature, depicting the way we interact with the natural world to either foster mutual success or engage in ignorant destruction. Her circular paintings on birch panels are reminiscent of medicine wheels, connecting the spirit of all life to the boundless energy of the universe. These elemental studies are a true testament to the notion that You Are Never Alone.
Sipe’s paintings and sculptures push and pull the viewer in and out of the natural world with a captivating interplay between material and illusion. Her mediums are synthetic and highly textured, combining acrylic paint skins, delicate flocking, crushed china, and various emulsions to create imitations of nature. They intuitively arise as folded sheets of what looks like birch bark, carefully piped ‘fungus’ and ‘lichen’, rippled blankets of skin and deep crevices that reveal illuminated geodes. These dramatic textural forms mirror memory and trauma, encouraging both the artist and viewer to reflect on and process their inner worlds. Sipe's use of humor and whimsy add an extra layer of depth to her paintings and sculptures, like the endearing pet name “Alice” given to a fluffy, dripping and illuminated sculpture, to a gold and pink fleshy paint skin titled, “I Faked It”.
– Karlë Woods, Lights Out Gallery
Waterfall’s current exhibit is on view Tuesday-Friday 10am-5pm and Satrudays 11am-3pm now until June 7th. All three exhibiting artists are hosting a talk on June 1st at 10:30am at Waterfall Arts. Sipe has recently been selected from the Lights Out 2024 Open Call to show her work in our next exhibit (opening in June) at Wolf & Harp in Norway, Maine.
Standing in the glow of Stanton’s work is like looking into a dream – vibrant, bold colors clash and merge, with neons flooding the scene. Figures flatten, stretch and bulge in a hypnotic dance. The clusters of strange and wonderful characters gather in the composition like crowds on a city street, each undoubtedly unique and profoundly anonymous. Stanton builds these figurative landscapes with an additive and subtractive process, using a mixture of acrylic paints, watercolor pencils, graphite, and collage.
Sabino's work comments on our relationship with nature, depicting the way we interact with the natural world to either foster mutual success or engage in ignorant destruction. Her circular paintings on birch panels are reminiscent of medicine wheels, connecting the spirit of all life to the boundless energy of the universe. These elemental studies are a true testament to the notion that You Are Never Alone.
Sipe’s paintings and sculptures push and pull the viewer in and out of the natural world with a captivating interplay between material and illusion. Her mediums are synthetic and highly textured, combining acrylic paint skins, delicate flocking, crushed china, and various emulsions to create imitations of nature. They intuitively arise as folded sheets of what looks like birch bark, carefully piped ‘fungus’ and ‘lichen’, rippled blankets of skin and deep crevices that reveal illuminated geodes. These dramatic textural forms mirror memory and trauma, encouraging both the artist and viewer to reflect on and process their inner worlds. Sipe's use of humor and whimsy add an extra layer of depth to her paintings and sculptures, like the endearing pet name “Alice” given to a fluffy, dripping and illuminated sculpture, to a gold and pink fleshy paint skin titled, “I Faked It”.
– Karlë Woods, Lights Out Gallery
Waterfall’s current exhibit is on view Tuesday-Friday 10am-5pm and Satrudays 11am-3pm now until June 7th. All three exhibiting artists are hosting a talk on June 1st at 10:30am at Waterfall Arts. Sipe has recently been selected from the Lights Out 2024 Open Call to show her work in our next exhibit (opening in June) at Wolf & Harp in Norway, Maine.