Delicate waves, mysterious fissures, and diffused lightning set the ethereal scenes in Sarah Lee’s dreamy landscape paintings. Moons with strangely direct beams of light and supple mountains cradled by lakes and forests are tinged with a distinct sense of magical realism. Most of the works featured in this recent wave of critical attention are part of Lee’s solo exhibition titled Deeper, hosted at the prominent gallery Albertz Benda. Within this compelling body of work, the artist highlights diverse ecosystems while probing the complex nature of clarity and concealment. She frequently titles her works in direct reference to the atmospheric colors she employs, offering poetic signposts such as “Emerald Sky” and “Red Meadow in Mist.”
These seemingly “empty” landscapes nod directly to the romantic Western tradition of seascapes and broad, open expanses that historically pandered to a problematic colonialist mindset, such as that of Manifest Destiny. The term, coined by John O’Sullivan in the 19th century, encapsulated a prevailing ideological framework. O’Sullivan wrote that Americans possessed the fundamental right “to overspread and to possess the whole of the continent which Providence has given us…” This philosophy justified territorial expansion by framing the American landscape as an unpopulated wilderness ripe for taking. In stark contrast, Lee’s oil paintings subvert this historical gaze. According to a gallery statement accompanying the exhibition, in Lee’s hands, “the landscape pushes back.”
Through the misty, fuzzy edges of glaciers, glowing skies, and brooding mountain peaks, the artist imbues a nuanced sense of the uncanny. Rather than offering passive vistas meant for human consumption, her compositions vibrate with an enigmatic tension. “There is a distinct feeling that more is hidden in the scene than what meets the eye: in the recesses of the water, underneath the ice, obscured by an outcropping of coral,” the gallery notes. Light often shines a little too brightly, or a gap opens up ominously in an otherwise uniform field of ice. In works like “Before Dark,” the viewer’s attention is drawn to the serene surface of a lake. While what is immediately visible possesses a breathtaking, quiet beauty, an underlying unease lingers, leaving the viewer to wonder if they are witnessing the calm before an impending storm.
Lee skillfully harnesses the power of the unknown, examining the complicated ways in which nature both nourishes human life and stands as the ultimate authority. Human survival depends entirely on clean water, food, and fresh air—essential elements we rely on even as our collective actions continue to cause the environment severe harm, which in turn paradoxically threatens humanity itself. The artist’s paintings provide a vital philosophical filter through which to view this modern contradiction. The land and water rendered on her canvases are elements upon which we fundamentally rely, yet they remain forces that we ultimately cannot control or conquer.
The exhibition Deeper runs through October 10 in New York, drawing art enthusiasts and critics alike to engage with Lee’s contemporary reimagining of landscape painting.
