Up and coming contemporary artists - chosen by experts

Sasha Pierce

Practice: painting

Click image to start slideshow of this artist's work ?

We've seen Canadian artist Sasha Pierce's works referred to as 'woven paintings' in the mistaken belief that they're thread-based; close-ups of her extraordinary (yes, oil on canvas) technique explain how such assumptions can easily be made.

It's impossible not to marvel at the effort involved in the making of Pierce's paintings, and this, quite apart from anything else, makes them objects of real fascination.

The restraint exercised both in Pierce's technique and comparitvely sombre palette can make her work seem overly reserved, but for all their apparent sobriety, these paintings cleverly align maximalist application with the pared-down, planear focus of geometric abstraction. They're bursting with energy on the minutest scale, and we're betting that Sasha Pierce's grow-on-you canvases are on the verge of far wider recognition.