SARAH PEOPLES: The Meaning of Everything

September 20 - December 23, 2023

"In 2021 I began compiling simplified topographical-style pastel drawings about the earth’s natural processes and phenomenon. Hundreds of drawings in, I see a duality is established in the serene, aesthetically beautiful pastel representations of disastrous environmental events such as earthquakes, coastal flooding or oil spills."
Both Dina Wind and Sarah Peoples share a concern for our footprint as humans in this world. This similarity is most evident in the use of found objects and upcycling in their respective works. Caring for the environment takes real effort and both Dina Wind and Sarah Peoples have proposed this effort to be not only worthwhile but critical to our future on this planet.

- Gerard Silva, Curator, Fleisher Art Memorial
Fire Boom, 2023

Marker, Pastel, Charcoal on Watercolor Paper, 18 x 24"

"These drawings will be cataloged into an artist book project entitled The Meaning of Everything, A Compendium. This desire to visually organize the seemingly chaotic natural world and my curiosity about how the world works has morphed into a long term meditation on environmental justice. The greatest outcome of this project being an awareness and a truly inspired push towards public policy." - Sarah Peoples
- Mariana Trench vs Mt Everest
  2023, Pastel, Marker, Pencil on Watercolor Paper, 18 x 24"
- Glacier with Lateral, Medial, End, Recessional,
  Ground and Terminal Moraines
  2023, Marker and Pastel on Paper, 18 x 24"
Imagined Rainwater Distribution Fresco

2023, Plaster, Wood, Canvas, Pastel, 12 x 19 x 3/4”

"In experimenting to find the most compelling way to represent these drawings in 3-D it was the direct qualities of plaster that makes the most sense. I then began to transcribe my pastel drawings into bas-relief, wall hung plaster fresco paintings. Color and texture are imperative to these works as I represent the strata and physicality of the subject matter; the earth."
- Earthquake Tsunami, Erosion Tsunami, Volcanic Tsunami,
  Falling Meteor Mega Tsunami
  2021, Pastel on Watercolor Paper, 18 x 24"
- Mid-Ocean Ridge
  2023, Marker, Charcoal, Pastel on Watercolor Paper, 18 x 24"
Plastic Rainbow, 2022
"In April of 2020 as Covid-19 had us all in lock down, I activated an empty pedestal on Lemon Hill by installing Plastic Rainbow, as a tribute to our essential workers and a symbol of hope for my community. This piece has proven evolutionary as it grew and changed with the events that were in the forefront of our minds. What started as a way to show support for a community dealing with a global pandemic morphed into a symbol of mourning for the black lives killed by police brutality."
- In Mourning: BLM Coloring Page
- June, Pride Month's, LGBT+ Coloring Page
Glacier Erosion and Deposition

2022, Marker, Pencil, Pastel on Watercolor Paper, 18 x 24"

THE MEANING OF EVERYTHING

Gerard Silva, Curator

Fleisher Art Memorial

Sarah commits many of her ideas to paper, making drawings that appear idyllic and sweet at first glance, even when her subject matter is ongoing environmental abuse and its impact. She refers to environmental disaster as imminent, calling for climate justice and demanding action to limit climate change.
Fresco, the other medium/technique she is exploring here, has a quality of both the ethereal and of the earth. In the fresco painting technique, time is of the essence when manipulating the paint. The fragility of this natural canvas creates a tension that relates directly to the environment and to the subject matter of Peoples' work. Plaster can be compared to our existence in the world: we are impacted by our environment, and in the case of plaster, pollutants and fungal growth will deteriorate the work over time if not cared for. Again, disaster is lurking around the corner.
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As an artist with concerns about the environment and climate change, Sarah Peoples reports the tragedy of man’s negative impact on the natural world. The resulting work beautifully fuses art and activism. Peoples' art is a sign of the times we live in and it warns of environmental injustices and apocalypse.
Heat Dome
2023, Pastel on Watercolor Paper, 18 x 24"
Waterfall

2021, Pastel on Paper, 18 x 24"

"Some striking examples of natural processes I am interested in include landslides, erosion, formation of a waterfall, weathering and the glacial moving of tectonic plates. My pastel drawings strive to understand both the gradual and the fastest processes on the planet so that we might consider the effects on ecosystems and life."
- Cloud Fresco
  2023, Plaster, Wood, Canvas, Pastel, 20.5 x 11 x 3/4”
- Pink Cloud Fresco
  2023, Plaster, Wood, Canvas, Pastel, 11 x 8.5 x 3/4”
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Wildness; According to Thomas Cole

Post consumer found and natural objects, concrete, paint

"Deconstructed Landscapes was a month long public art exhibition in Philadelphia created and installed for the DaVinci Art Alliance’s Everyday Future Fest at Palumbo Park in April 2022. The primary inspiration for this work are the paintings of Thomas Cole. Cole’s paintings rely on symbolism to convey ideas in a self-invented framework by utilizing five necessary components needed to paint a distinctly American landscape: water, mountains, sky, forest and wilderness."
- Mountains; According to Thomas Cole
  (Purple Mountain Majesty)
  Post consumer materials, flex seal, saw dust, acrylic paint, recycled newspaper
- Sky; According to Thomas Cole
  2022, Post consumer, recycled materials, rebar, concrete, paint, 12 x 4 x 4’
- Compound Leaves
  2021, Pastel on Paper, 18 x 24"
- Grasses
  2021, Pastel and Pencil, 18 x 24"
Monstera Fresco

2023, Plaster, Wood, Canvas, Pastel, 15 x 14 x 3/4”

"Anthropologist and geographer, Neil Smith’s 2006 article “There’s No Such Thing as a Natural Disaster” has greatly influenced the meaning imbedded within this work. Smith focuses on the events of Hurricane Katrina as the framework to assert the controversial idea that disasters are preventable human made political events. These topographical studies are a visual way to understand the effects of systemic inequities and the need for environmental justice and a unified climate justice movement."
- Generic Pink Flower Fresco
  2023, Plaster, Wood, Canvas, Pastel, Found Object, 10.5 x 6.25 x 3”
Selected work from the exhibition is also available for purchase in our online store

SHOP NOW

In conjunction with the Viewing Room,

please join us to meet the artist at an in-person reception and exhibition:

November 28, 2023

6:00 - 8:00pm

1606 S. 8th Street

Philadelphia, PA

REGISTER HERE

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