Sabrina Kliza: Solo Exhibition at A2AC
Work by Sabrina Kliza (BFA ’22) is on view in Earth Day Special: Sugar Coated, a solo exhibition at the Ann Arbor Art Center through April 27 with an opening reception on Saturday, April 12.
Inspired by Jonathan Vigliotti’s Before It’s Gone, Earth Day Special: Sugar Coated explores the consequences of sugarcoating climate truths, using glitter and bold visuals to lure viewers into confronting urgent environmental realities.
The idea for Earth Day Special: Sugar Coated originated from the book Before it’s Gone: Stories from the Frontline of Climate Change in Small-Town America by Jonathan Vigliotti. In the book, Vigliotti explains the story of John Mercer. Mercer sounded the alarm in the 1960s that the glaciers were melting at a startling pace due to the increased CO2 levels in the atmosphere. What happened next wasn’t a call to action to fix the problem. Instead, people spat in his face, called him an alarmist, and took away his funding. This set a precedent. Tell the complete truth of climate change, and you will become a pariah. As Vigliotti puts it in his book, this caused scientists to “sugarcoat” their findings leading to decades of sugar-coated and “easier” data for people to swallow. The story of John Mercer begs the question: how do you get people to listen to abstract and apocalyptic issues? In my artworks, I use glitter and flashy colors as “sugar” to tempt the viewer to take a bite and look deeper into dire issues.
The glitter holds another purpose as well. It is my way of screaming for attention for my artwork and its messages. The online landscape dominates the average life of a person, and clicks and views drive the internet. This leads to an online culture where whatever can outrage, shock, or disgust the most receives the most attention, often at the cost of content and the truth. How is a stationary, singular artwork supposed to compete with the nonstop content made for people to engage no matter the cost? I don’t know, but I hope that the flashiness and glitter may give pause for the viewer so they may spend even the briefest moment with physical work.
Earth Day Special: Sugar Coated Works by Sabrina Kliza
Exhibition Dates: April 4 – April 27, 2025
Opening Reception: Saturday, April 12, 6 – 8 p.m.
Ann Arbor Art Center Spotlight Gallery, 117 W. Liberty St., Ann Arbor