2025 Emerging Leader Award: Sasha M. Gordon 20 PT
Sasha Gordon is an American figurative painter known for her hyper-realistic and visceral oil paintings that explore themes of identity, vulnerability, and self-expression. Her work, often centered around self-portraiture, grapples with issues of misogyny, racism, and homophobia while challenging the traditional boundaries of the figurative genre. She is lauded for her technical skill and the narrative depth in her paintings. Nominators noted that, in a relatively short period of time, she has created an extensive and moving body of work that offers a unique and deeply affecting experience for the viewer. Widely considered a breakthrough artist, Gordon is advancing discourse in the field by complicating notions of self-portraiture and canonical figurative painting.
Gordon's paintings have been exhibited in solo and group shows internationally, including at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami (2023), Stephen Friedman Gallery in London (2023), and Jeffrey Deitch in New York (2022). Her work is included in prestigious collections such as the Dallas Museum of Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. She was announced as a represented artist by David Zwirner Gallery in 2024.
She is a member of the RISD Asian Alumni Affinity Group, and the RISD Queer Alumni Affinity group.
The Emerging Leader Award recognizes alumni who graduated within the past 10 years, who have made significant achievements and contributions to their profession and/or community, think boldly, mindfully and creatively, and have helped to create new fields of study or contributed to fundamental change in their area of practice.
Sasha Gordon, 2024. Photo by Jason Schmidt. Courtesy of the artist.
