frosch&portmann is pleased to present Yes/No, the gallery’s first solo exhibition by New York based artist Vicki Sher.

“…the making of pictures consists of a large number of yes and no decisions and a yes decision at the end.” Gerhard Richter

When Vicki Sher was in her teens, her grandmother Pearl had a stroke. She lost all ability to speak except for the words Yes and No. To Sher, this was sad of course, but it was also immediately interesting. How is it even possible that the brain can lose language in general but hold on to those two words separately? It’s clear that Yes and No are independent ideas from other conversational language. They don’t describe anything – they represent feelings and decisions that are clear and final. Arguably all human behavior is a wavering back and forth between these two poles and all other language is built to describe this movement between the two.

The artist has been using a reduced language in her drawings for many years. She has been pairing simple line and color drawings with carefully pared down phrases in order to hint at everyday life and domestic interiors without over-directing the narrative. Sher believes that underneath the busy-ness of daily activity lies a quieter hum of human experience.

The exhibition consists of a conversation pit of recordings representing a reenactment of Sher’s Grandmother’s voice. This central installation is accompanied by a series of drawings and one large-scale painting of the artist’s grandmother. A group of small paintings connects the show’s conceptual framework to studio practice and the constant language experiments that make up the artist’s studio life.

A short video “Woodchuck” connects another personal experience to the show. The artist found the animal run over by a tractor and paralyzed from the neck down. Still alive, afraid and vulnerable, the animal is a powerful example of the language of the debilitated.

Born in Washington, DC, Vicki Sher lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. She received her B.F.A. from the Cornell University, Ithaca, NY and her M.F.A. from the University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA.