SARASOTA, FLA.- Sarasota Art Museum of Ringling College (SAM) presents “Lillian Blades: Through the Veil,” on view now through Oct. 26. “Through the Veil” marks the artist’s first solo museum show and her most ambitious exhibition to date. At the center of this monumental, site-specific installation is an immersive labyrinth of mixed-media veils. Suspended and lit by the central gallery skylight tower, these floating tapestries invite visitors to step inside, wander through and lose themselves within the veils of translucency and reflection. Constructed from acrylic, wood, fabric, found materials and shimmering reflective surfaces, these wired structures evoke lace-like patterns and bounce color and light throughout the space. On the walls, mounted assemblages further envelop visitors inside Blades’ mesmeric mixed-media installation.



“Lillian Blades’ exhibition is a great example of Sarasota Art Museum’s commitment to championing the work and supporting the careers of some of today’s rising artistic talents,” said Sarasota Art Museum Executive Director Virginia Shearer. “‘Through the Veil’ represents the Museum’s mission to present pioneering exhibitions and serve as a platform for exposure and experimentation. Audiences of all ages can enjoy the immersive nature of this installation. Thanks to the literal and figurative reflective nature of ‘Through the Veil,’ we can all see ourselves within this compelling body of work.”



From stained glass, wood, wire and spray paint to cut canvas, printed photographs and jewelry, Blades utilizes a wide range of found and hand-made materials to construct her sculptures. Light is another important medium for the artist. It activates the work, bouncing off reflective objects and passing through transparent materials to imbue the exhibition with dynamic energy.



“My patchwork veils are wired tapestries of images and texture,” said Blades. “I use reflection and transparency to engage the viewer. I want it to feel complex but simple at the same time. I want the details and the objects to carry memory and trigger viewers into thinking about their associations with certain patterns and textures.”

In addition to semi-reflective surfaces, mirrors play an important visual and conceptual role in the works, each serving as a gateway to contemplation and self-reflection.



“Mirrors give the work a flickering quality and serve as a tool for bringing viewers back to the present moment,” explained Blades. “They’re also a reminder for us to stop and consider how others see us and how we see ourselves.”

Much like her artwork, Blades’ artistic process is complex. To create her massive veils, Blades cuts and paints hundreds of individual wood, acrylic and glass panes and arranges them into intricate patterns. Then, she drills holes and wires each piece to its surrounding materials. The artist likens her wiring process to the art of quilt making, both rhythmic and tactile in their construction processes. In fact, Blades often invites family and friends to assist with the wiring process. The artist likens this communal approach to a Quilting Bee in the south, or the junkanoo costume making in The Bahamas.



Blades’ artistic inspiration is rooted in a sense of home and profoundly personal experience. Her use of color and imagery evokes the energy of her home country, the Bahamas. Equally influential is the legacy of her mother, a skilled seamstress, who passed away immediately after the artist’s birth. Blades views this personal loss as a reflection of the broader, universal search for foundational and ancestral connection among people of African heritage. In response, she began collecting, dissecting and reassembling eclectic materials as a way of reconnecting with those personal and cultural histories. Through this work, Blades brings fragmented elements—materials, ideas and identities—together as a way of mending and reimagining the past, while forging a deeper self-understanding.

Lillian Blades’ work has been featured in galleries, museums and botanical gardens across the United States, as well as in the Bahamas, Trinidad, Germany and South Africa. Her public installations include the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, and her works belong to the permanent collections of the Birmingham Museum of Art, Clark Atlanta University Art Museum and The National Art Gallery of The Bahamas, among others.



“Lillian Blades: Through the Veil” is organized by Sarasota Art Museum of Ringling College of Art and Design and curated by Lacie Barbour, associate curator of exhibitions at Sarasota Art Museum.