Sarah Richter, "Sight Distortions"

An Artist's Experience with Multiple Sclerosis

Artist's Statement​: In this multi-media exhibition, I focus on describing the feelings and sensations associated with symptoms from my personal experience with this illness including: fatigue, vertigo, visual and auditory changes.  One of the compelling aspects of creating this work is the opportunity to communicate an existence that is very difficult to describe.  MS makes a world that is very real, but its symptoms are often invisible to others and challenging to translate. My hope is to facilitate a dialogue of connection and understanding in relating to the experiences of those living with MS.

Curator's Statement: The artistic practices that provide the nourishing ground for Sarah Richter’s work are not derived from the language or systems of medical practice, and although the visual representation of illness has increased dramatically in recent years, it has rarely focused specifically on contemporary expressions of the experience of being ill.  The one possible exception that comes to mind is the enormous body of work created in response to the AIDS crisis of the 1980s and 1990s.

Sarah Richter’s art emerges both from her facility with contemporary art practice as well as from her personal encounter with illness – in this case Multiple Sclerosis. Can we read Richter’s work as a subjective expression of suffering – or of resilience and hope?  What is distinctive about the visual expression of illness?  Do those expressions enable the artist – and the audience – to forget what disease negates?  Are there ethical issues that are potentially associated with exhibiting expressive portrayals of illness?  Does the gallery context mute and aestheticize the experience of suffering?  If so, what are the contexts in which this work should be seen and experienced? –Simon Zalkind

• Colorado Public Radio interview​ with Sarah Richter, about "The Beauty of Having MS"
• Supported by the Rocky Mountain MS Center, a patient and family-centered local nonprofit organization that provides a comprehensive and integrated wellness approach to MS, life-changing support services and cutting-edge research
• Learn more about MS through an artist’s eyes
• Made possible with the support of Teva Pharmaceuticals, a manufacturer of specialty and generic pharmaceuticals