On view June 29 – August 27, 2023
Sao’s Inner Landscapes is a collection of large-scale paintings on canvas that showcases the artist’s unique approach to creating meditative spaces. The artist’s compositions use horizontal lines and gestures suggestive of landscapes, while layers of refined colors are applied to create luminous washes. Through this technique, Sao evokes a sense of depth and serenity within each work.
Sao’s keen sensitivity to color relationships and the distilled paint application engage the viewer’s senses and bring about an overall contemplative atmosphere to the paintings. Light within each artwork emanates serenity, spirituality and light–these meditative spaces invite viewers to explore and engage with the paintings on a deeper level, both visually and emotionally.
–Liz Leggett
MoCA Westport’s Director of Exhibitions
About Sao
Sao has been an artist and designer for over 30 years. A native of Portugal, Sao studied art and design in Denmark before moving to America to pursue her career. Her paintings and textiles have been exhibited at the Smithsonian Institution’s Renwick Gallery, The Textile Museum, the Corcoran Gallery in Washington DC, the American Center for the Arts in Paris, the Gulbenkian Foundation and the American Embassy in Paris, the Amphitheater in Arles, France, Rhode Island School of Design’s Museum of Art, and at the American Craft Museum, NYC and Museum of the City of New York. She was represented by the Fendrick Gallery in Washington DC and New York. Sao has received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, and was awarded The Washington DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Award and Women in Design International Award. Sao created costumes for the Gulbenkian Ballet in Lisbon and The London Contemporary Dance Theatre and had her own store in Soho, NYC for ten years, exhibiting both her art and couture fashion line. She has lectured extensively on her art and design, and her book Wearable Art: Innovative Designs for Clothing and Fibers was published by Viking Press in 1980. She currently paints full time at her studio in Southport, Connecticut.