Sara Anstis’ magical dreamscape and folkloristic visual language is brought to life in the dynamic unfolding scene of Only the Beach, the Sea, and the Two of Us, painted in 2019. Dominating the canvas, two nude female figures are rendered with the artist’s signature manipulation of oil, employing deep purple, ochre yellow and cyan blue to create an ethereal feel. Their bodies caught in movement and their hair blowing in the wind, one can feel echoes of Salt Spring Island in British Columbia, where the artist was raised.
“I grew up on an island and spent a lot of time in the sea and in lakes. Skinny-dipping features heavily in my childhood and teenage memories and I can’t separate water from my sexuality. I am not a great swimmer and I was always scared to swim far out in the ocean, for fear of what may lie in its tentacular depths.”
—Sara AnstisThese female figures are what the artist describes as “of the water” – their slick skin feels to the viewer more dolphin than human, or perhaps somewhere closer to mermaid or siren. These figures are caught in a moment of transformation, just as mythological creatures exist between two states of being, human and animal. The figure on the right appears to be feeding the one on the left; what she is feeding her, or why, remains up to our interpretation.
A detail of the present work. “A manatee or a beluga, from a certain angle and with a certain rippling of fat and flesh, can appear feminine. Sea creatures are so other-worldly that they have been mistaken for women.”
—Sara AnstisCalling upon notions of the mythological, these god-like characters act out their desires without hesitation. Present in Only the Beach, the Sea, and the Two of Us is an invigorating play between beauty and wildness, violence and the sublime of the natural world, interrogating our assumptions about what is considered human in addition to what is considered feminine. As film theorist Barbara Creed notes, what is considered monstrous about female characters, or antiheroines, is often directly related to or a product of their bodies and sexuality.i These figures’ freedom from social constraints and exaggerated femininity beg us to question our own expectations of what is feminine and how we might be inclined to embrace the “monstrous,” and the freedom that comes along with it, in ourselves.
Anstis received her BFA from Concordia University, Montreal, and her MFA at Valand Academy, Goteborg. Her work has been exhibited internationally at Various Small Fires, Seoul; Bradley Ertaskiran, Montreal; and Fabian Lang, Zurich. Anstis’ work is owned by public institutions such as the Uppsala Art Museum, Region Uppsala and The Royal Collection (UK). Sara Anstis lives and works in London.
i Oliver Basciano, “Female Monsters,” DSCENE Magazine, April 6, 2023, online.
Condition Report
Description
View our Conditions of Sale.
Provenance
Patrick Parrish Gallery, New York
Acquired from the above by the present ownerExhibited
New York, Patrick Parrish Gallery, BIG PAINTING, October 24–December 20, 2019
Literature
Emma Grayson, "Sara Anstis Builds a World Filled with Desire," Art of Choice, January 13, 2020, online (illustrated)
1
Only the Beach, the Sea, and the Two of Us
oil and casein on canvas
56 x 52 in. (142.2 x 132.1 cm)
Executed in 2019.
Estimate
$10,000 - 15,000
Avery Semjen
Specialist, Head of New Now Sale
T +1 212 940 1207
asemjen@phillips.com
New Now: Modern & Contemporary Art
New York Auction 25 September 2024