Press Release

Mrs. is pleased to return to NADA New York for the 11th edition, presenting a solo exhibition of new works by Sarah Bedford, a current resident at the Sharpe Walentas Residency Program. Bedford’s paintings merge the traditions of still life and landscape, creating a richly layered meditation on memory, growth, and the unseen rhythms of the natural world.

Sarah Bedford’s works evoke a subterranean, mineral-rich palette, conjuring nocturnal flora that bloom in shadow—silent testaments to life unfolding below the surface. Her compositions speak to the quiet power of the underground, where roots tangle with emotion and time, and where botanical forms—like the extinct Sophora toromiro from Easter Island, carnivorous Venus flytraps, and toxic Amanita mushrooms—emerge as hallucinatory visions. These otherworldly species, suspended between beauty and danger, presence and absence, deepen the metaphorical terrain of her work.

Depicted in Above the Fog and Sea, Bedford’s ocean and life-size flora appear as both metaphor and mystery, a vast and shifting threshold holding the potential for transformation. As poet Mary Oliver reflects, “Such weight, on the earth, is on our shoulders: gravity keeping us at home. But on the water we shake off the harness of weight; we glide...” This sense of release and drift mirrors the emotional undercurrents of Bedford’s work, where the natural world becomes a space not only of grounding but of transcendence and possibility.

Bedford’s process involves preliminary studies on paper, sketching onto canvas through washes of acrylic, layers of oil pastel, and glazes of oil paint. Using a selective palette of greens, purples, pinks, and ambers, Bedford choreographs floral forms into complex contortions. The resulting works depict flowers that appear to move—twisting, turning lines with drooping heads, creating a rhythmic, ever-changing composition. Each arrangement acts as a self-contained biome, and when presented together, Bedford’s paintings evoke a palpable sense of time in flux.

Growing up on an isolated cattle ranch, Bedford’s environment fostered a deep connection to nature and a profound engagement with the life of plants. Her floral paintings subvert the traditional genre, offering a feminist narrative that explores the cyclical nature of flourishing and decay. These works invite viewers to reflect on the emotional and philosophical depths of nature, peering into a secret garden where beauty, loss, and transformation are in continuous motion.

Through her work, Bedford invites us to engage with the ongoing, unseen evolution of life in its many forms. The inclusion of extinct and uncanny flora speaks to the fragility of life and the persistence of its memory—remnants of a once-known world and harbingers of unseen futures. With these works, Bedford offers not only a reflection of the natural world but an attunement to its inner life—a space where beauty and loss coexist in quiet transformation.

Sarah Bedford received her BFA from Cooper Union, attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture and is a current recipient of the 2024 - 25 Sharpe-Walentas Studio Residency. The artist is currently included in the Brooklyn Museum’s 200th Anniversary Artists Exhibition through the end of January 2025. Bedford has been awarded the Lower East Side Printshop Fellowship, the National Academy of Design Painting Award and co-curated Flower Craft at the Museum of Arts and Design, NY, New York. Represented by Mrs. since 2020, Bedford’s most recent solo exhibition was held during the winter of 2023. Other notable solo and group shows include: Vitrine Gallery, Bermondsey Square, London, UK; Secrist Beach, Chicago, IL; Charles Moffett, Albertz Benda Gallery, Deanna Evans Projects, New York, NY; and Foyer, Los Angeles, CA among others. She has been profiled in publications such as Galerie Magazine, Maake Magazine, Hyperallergic, and listed as a ‘must see’ in Artforum.  The artist lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.

For additional information, please contact hello@mrsgallery.com.