SARA GOLISH | BIRDS OF PARADISE

January 14 – April 11, 2020

Toronto-based artist Sara Golish questions the symbolism of conventional oil portraiture through a lens of eco-feminism by depicting traditionally oppressed bodies with dignity and grace in her  Birds of Paradise series. Golish breathes new life into the traditional canon of early modern portraiture, where affluent women were presented in ways that spoke more to men’s accumulation of wealth and status than to any representation of their own identities. If women of color appeared, they were rendered as servants and exotic curiosities to demonstrate the imperial reach of aristocratic power and wealth. Birds of Paradise is about liberating not just the subject from the patriarchal grasp, but also the form, techniques and materials from their historical usage and symbolism. Golish fills her portraits with ethnically diverse female subjects in bold colors, as well as exotic birds and plants that symbolize strength through adversity and fortitude of spirit.

the work: