Born in 1956 in Laurel Canyon, a suburb of Los Angeles, CA, Alison Saar received her B.A. from Scripps College in Claremont, CA in 1978, then an M.F.A. from the Otis Art Institute, Los Angeles, CA in 1981. Though she is of African American, European, and Native American ancestry, Saar’s work is especially inspired by African American culture, history, and narratives.
Alison Saar (born February 5, 1956) is a Los Angeles-based sculptor, mixed-media, and installation artist. Her artwork focuses on the African diaspora and black female identity and is influenced by African, Caribbean, and Latin American folk art and spirituality. Saar is well known for "transforming found objects to reflect themes of cultural and social identity, history, and religion." Saar credits her parents, collagist and assemblage artist Betye Saar (née Brown) and painter and art conservator Richard Saar, for her early exposure to art and to these metaphysical and spiritual practices. Saar followed in her parents footsteps along with her sisters, Lezley Saar and Tracye Saar-Cavanaugh who are also artists. Saar has been a practicing artist for many years, exhibiting in galleries around the world as well as installing public art works in New York City. She has received achievement awards from institutions including the New York City Art Commission as well as the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston.
