Levee Break

As a native of Louisiana, Sarah Dupré cites the scorching of sugarcane fields as inspiration for her work. “I’d watch the sugarcane fields, towering above my body, be set ablaze by a fire that expanded until it scorched the crop down to dust and ash. Black clouds billowed overhead while the reaffirming fragrance of gas and diesel signaled the arrival of a new season.” Dupré’s work explores this cyclical process that is imperative to regeneration. Buried with charcoal and flooded with turpentine, her canvases capture the plumes of dust that are needed for a new and fertile figure-ground to emerge.
The individual moments within the cycle of death and regrowth lends themselves to the concept of a short-lasting infinity. Dupré uses graphite, oils, tar, house paint, acrylics, pigments, and pastels to create layered abstract paintings that are both gestural and dense. Expressive and tactile, Dupré’s compositions strike a balance between weighted and airy marks.