Galerie Lelong & Co., New York is pleased to present a solo exhibition of works by Sarah Grilo, The New York Years, 1962–70, the late artist’s first with the gallery. Curated by Karen Grimson, the exhibition will focus on a pivotal period in the artist’s practice, charting the emergence of her distinct style fusing abstraction with language.
Sarah Grilo’s arrival in New York in 1962, following her receipt of a Guggenheim Fellowship, came at a time of intense political upheaval that mirrored visual experimentation, and imbued the artist with a deepened desire to create. Grilo’s works reflect this disruption and creativity. Influenced in part by her attraction to U.S. illustrated publications such as LIFE and women’s magazines, Grilo assimilated language, collage, and text in her paintings. Working with collage and transfer of text, Grilo isolated phrases such as America’s going…; Our heroes; and Win, it’s great for your ego, marrying abstraction and drawing with subtle social commentary. Grilo’s use of text sourced from U.S. mass media is even more intriguing considering English was a foreign language for the artist.