{
  "id": 9574918,
  "title": "Red Moons and Lightning Illuminate Sarah Lee’s Uncanny Landscapes",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/24/red-moons-and-lightning-illuminate-sarah-lees-uncanny-landscapes",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-24T14:57:11.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Colossal",
    "slug": "colossal",
    "url": "https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2026/09/sarah-lee-deeper-landscapes-oil-paintings/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Delicate waves, mysterious fissures, and diffused lightning characterize some of Sarah Lee's dreamy landscape paintings. The artist's works are part of her annual solo exhibition titled \"Deeper\" at Albertz Benda, where she showcases various ecosystems and the duality of clarity and concealment. Lee frequently names her pieces after the colors she uses, like \"Emerald Sky\" and \"Red Meadow in Mist.\" These seemingly \"empty\" landscapes echo the romantic Western tradition of seascapes and expansive vistas, which historically catered to a colonialist mindset, such as Manifest Destiny. The term \"manifest destiny\" refers to the belief that it was the nation's God-given right to expand across the continent. In her oil paintings, Lee's landscapes seem to resist revealing all their secrets. The gallery notes that in \"Emerald Sky,\" the mist and fuzzy edges of glaciers, glowing skies, and mountain peaks create an uncanny atmosphere. Lee plays with light and shadows, making it seem as though more is concealed beneath the surface—recesses of water, ice, or a hidden outcropping of coral. In \"Before Dark,\" the painting highlights the beautiful yet potentially ominous calm of a lake's surface. The contrast between the serene view and the unsettling possibilities elicits a sense of the unknown. Through her art, Lee explores the delicate balance between nature's nourishment and its ultimate authority. Humans depend on clean water, food, and fresh air, but simultaneously contribute to the environment's harm. Lee's paintings offer a lens through which to perceive this paradox, emphasizing that while land and water are essential to our survival, we have limited control over them. \"Deeper\" is on display until October 10 in New York. For more about the artist, visit her Instagram.",
  "summary": "Supple mountains cradled by lakes and forests are tinged with magical realism. Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article Red Moons and Lightning Illuminate Sarah Lee’s Uncanny Landscapes appeared first on Colossal .",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}