Tucked away on the border of the East Village and the Lower East Side, OSMOS is an unassuming and intimate gallery space. This Thursday however, the gallery was packed with locals for the opening of Tena Saw’s solo exhibition titled Sirens. Honestly, I was completely unfamiliar with the artist, the gallery too, but left wanting more – a feeling I haven’t encountered in a while.
Saw primarily works with ceramics and sculpture, yet Sirens showcased a departure from that medium, focusing instead on paintings and prints, with just one sculptural piece anchoring the space. I found myself drawn to a particular series of abstract spray-painted works (pictured above). I’ve always favored abstraction, but there’s a fine line between compelling and overwhelming. Too often, abstract work can feel chaotic, even overstimulating. Saw, however, resists that temptation. Her pieces strip away excess, allowing color and composition to be the priority.
Visually, the work was beautiful—but so was everything else in the show. What set these pieces apart, at least for me, was their ability to evoke so much with so little (if you can’t already tell based off last week’s entry…I appreciate minimalism). And these pieces, though smaller in scale compared to others in the show, felt like they contained so much. There was a particular sense of intimacy to them.
Mark Rothko; No. 2, 1962, Oil on Canvas.
What struck me most was the emotional weight these works carried. It reminded me of the first time I saw a Mark Rothko painting—I was met with unexplainable emotion. It’s the lack of familiarity—no figures, no explanation, not even expression through process like Jackson Pollock’s work—that captivates me.
There’s something powerful about work that evokes such a visceral response without demanding it. I’m filled with curiosity yet appreciated the process of making my own individual meaning out of these pieces. It has been a while since I left a gallery opening truly impacted by the work on display—props to Tena Saw and OSMOS.
The exhibition is on display from now until March 15th. Learn more about the artist at https://www.tenasawceramics.com.