Sarah Curry’s recent series of work, titled Underestimated, is both deeply personal and universal, inspired by the lives of teenage girls. Many of the young women she portrays in her wildly colorful, poignant paintings are her students from Brush High School, where she has taught art for nineteen years. The development of this work has branched into a variety of media: alongside traditional painting, drawings, collage and prints, she is exploring installation, including text and sound.

When the Ohio shutdown happened this March, Sarah had to bring her classroom home, teaching in a completely virtual format. In the midst of the challenges of educating online, Sarah continued to produce new work for her exhibit at HEDGE. One series of work is specifically inspired by isolation during the pandemic: portraying full-color portraits of teenage girls suspended—on a flocked black background completely void of color or design—and longing for social interaction.

Curry states that, “To much of the world, teenage girls appear trivial, but I continue to discover a conflicted world in which teen girls are navigating a complex terrain. I see myself in them and remember they are living in what were my most difficult years. I relate to their insecurity; their need to be independent, but not ready to be a woman; their struggle to define, but not limit themselves; their need to be encouraged and guided, but not directed; their realization that they fear a world that fears them back; their attempts to find themselves, fit in, be liked, be unique, stand out, blend in. My process of understanding their complicated journey helps me relive my own experience and support them through it.”

Underestimated opens October 16 and will be on view until December 4