Galerie Lelong
Alison Saar , United States
"Sweet Life"
Alison Saar, Hygia (study), 2023, Coquillages, charbon et acrylique sur sacs de graines, balais et bouteilles, 228,6 x 203,2 cm © Alison Saar / Courtesy Galerie Lelong.
Alison Saar has developed a body of work consisting of sculptures, engravings and paintings focused mainly on black female identity in the United States. She was born into a family of artists – her father Richard Saar is a renowned ceramicist and the assemblages of her mother, Betye Saar, still active today, are now receiving international recognition. Over the last forty years, Alison Saar has built a unique corpus that is still little-known in Europe, consisting of sculptures and installations at the crossroads of diverse cultural influences (Afro-American culture, Haitian folklore, mythology or art brut).
Solo show of Alison Saar
From May 15th to July 11th, 2025
The gallery
The creation of the gallery in 1945 in Paris by Aimé Maeght was marked, during the first thirty years, by the presentation of major artists such as Joan Miró, Alexander Calder, Marc Chagall, Alberto Giacometti, Eduardo Chillida, Antoni Tàpies, and Francis Bacon. Upon Maeght’s passing in 1981, the gallery took its current name and was led by three equal partners: Jacques Dupin, Daniel Lelong, and Jean Frémon (J. Dupin passed away in 2012, the same year D. Lelong stepped down as president, handing over the role to J. Frémon, the current director of both the Paris and New York galleries).
From the 1980s onwards, significant artists such as Pierre Alechinsky, Louise Bourgeois, Konrad Klapheck, Jannis Kounellis, and Joan Miró, among others, joined the gallery. Galerie Lelong New York opened in 1985 and has been led since 1990 by Mary Sabbatino, expanding the program to major figures of the Latin American art scene: Alfredo Jaar, Ana Mendieta, Cildo Meireles, Hélio Oiticica, and Zilia Sánchez.
Today, the gallery continues its history, showcasing leading artists from the global art scene such as Etel Adnan, Marc Desgrandchamps, Leonardo Drew, Barry Flanagan, Günther Förg, Hyunsun Jeon, David Hockney, Nalini Malani, David Nash, Jaume Plensa, Arnulf Rainer, Paula Rego, Christine Safa, Kiki Smith, Nancy Spero, and Barthélémy Toguo.
The gallery has developed the production of monumental sculptures intended for public spaces with artists such as Jaume Plensa, Ursula von Rydingsvard, and Jean Dubuffet, thanks to a privileged relationship with the Dubuffet Foundation.
Gallery artists
Etel Adnan, Pierre Alechinsky, Karel Appel, James Brown, Eduardo Chillida, Nicola De Maria, Marc Desgrandchamps, Leonardo Drew, Jean Dubuffet, Simone Fattal, Barry Flanagan, Günther Förg, Ficre Ghebreyesus, Andy Goldsworthy, Sarah Grilo, Jane Hammond, David Hockney, Frank Horvat, Jean-Baptiste Huynh, Konrad Klapheck, Jiri Kolàr, Jannis Kounellis, Nalini Malani, Ana Mendieta, Henri Michaux, Joan Miró, David Nash, Ernest Pignon-Ernest, Jaume Plensa, Arnulf Rainer, Paula Rego, Alison Saar, Christine Safa, Sean Scully, Kate Shepherd, Kiki Smith, Nancy Spero, Antoni Tàpies, Mildred Thompson, Barthélémy Toguo, Richard Tuttle, Juan Uslé, Marion Verboom, Fabienne Verdier, Ursula von Rydingsvard, Jan Voss, Wang Yan Cheng
Galerie sélectionnée par Daria de Beauvais et Chris Cyrille Isaac
