FRIEDAcommunity
Black squares icon
Sabrina Small Girl on a horse

Sabrina Small – opening reception 12/8/22

Sabrina Small is a mixed media artist who focuses on drawing and stitching. Her artwork, often inhabited by world-weary women and Lovecraftian beings, speaks to the raw and grotesque nature of life on this planet.
The drawings selected for FRIEDA’s exhibition are a record and reflection of Sabrina’s life experience and transformation over the past two decades of living in Berlin, Sarasota, and Philadelphia. In an imperfect, complicated world, Sabrina seeks solace and growth in the daily practice of creating order out of chaos through making art.
Sabrina earned her B.F.A. degree from The Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. Her work has been exhibited in museums and galleries in Berlin, Budapest, Hamburg, Los Angeles, Mallorca, Miami, Nanjing, Philadelphia, Sarasota, San Francisco, Seattle, and Stuttgart. She currently lives in Philadelphia.

Celebratory opening cocktail: December 8
6:30 pm – 8:00 pm Open to the public
Registration only.
Mask recommended during this event.
Sign Up: Please sign up via email

To learn more about Sabrina’s work, join us for the
Meet the artist talk: Thursday, January 19
6:00 pm Open to the public
Registration only.
For more information click here

 

FRIEDAcommunity – A closer look: Sabrina Small
December 8 – January 22
Monday – Sunday: 9:00 am – 3:00 pm
FRIEDA 320 Walnut Street

There is something surreal about the work of Sabrina Small, though this word alone does not quite portray the world revealed in her art. The protagonists of Small’s narrative compositions are usually young women whose purpose and mission are not always evident, suggesting both confidence and vulnerability, thereby engaging and troubling us.

Her work is very much about line, whether in pencil, thread, or paint. She uses color to balance all aspects of her work, creating mood and atmosphere with her color choices and application.

Small’s output changed dramatically in 2002 after her relocation to Berlin, where the weather and ambiance may have contributed to work that appears darker and more introspective. In Sleepless Nights – Ode to Murakami (2006), she has created an enormous diptych (85” x 114”). Women in this work appear not only heroic but also emotionally sensitive, nurturing, and protective.

Small references the books of the Japanese writer Haruki Murakami, who often combines nostalgia, fantasy elements, and seemingly disconnected plots.

This exhibition brings us up to date on Small’s artistic development with Gold Orb (2012) and Blue Orb (2021) as well as pieces that she created during the height of the pandemic. Explore them at our online catalogue and learn more from the artist herself at her Artist Talk in January 2023 at FRIEDA.

You can find more of Sabrina’s work at FRIEDA at 320 Walnut Street or check her website.

ReConnectingGenerations Text