Christine Sauerteig-Pilaar: Phase II

Christine Sauerteig-Pilaar
Panel 2, 2024
Sewing pattern papers, thread, gouache, ink, dowel, and toile
72 x 84 inchPanel 2, 2024, Sewing pattern papers, thread, gouache, ink, dowel,  and toile, 72 x 84 inches

esThese large, wind-blown and weathered gouache paintings of hands on sewing-pattern paper panels are the remnants of the first part of this installation, Phase I. Suspended between trees in the woods at Whittemore CCC in Oldwick, NJ, for 30 days, these fragile yet resilient panels began as little more than tissue paper stitched together. Over time, the wind transformed them into something wholly unexpected.

Created from donated and recycled sewing patterns; a medium Sauerteig-Pilaar has embraced for its metaphors of fragility, strength, and memory; the panels were designed to deteriorate, their eventual disintegration feeding the work’s meaning. Four gestures adorned them: one panel depicting the ASL sign for “Help,” rising and falling in the breeze like a prayer flag; the other three embodying the universal three-part silent hand signal used by people in the process of being trafficked. Together, they waved urgent messages across the landscape, calling us, as custodians of our environment, to listen to both our endangered planet and to silenced voices.

Sauerteig-Pilaar anticipated rain would wear them down, but in the substantiating drought of 2024, it was wind that animated the work. It came sometimes as a soft breath, sometimes a furious gust, all captured in daily time-lapse films that now form the video Phase II. Now indoors, the panels’ battered surfaces still testify to resilience and the stubborn persistence of hope. Though beaten down, they refuse silence, continuing to cry out for justice, protection, and action
Christine Sauerteig-Pilaar is a contemporary artist based in New Jersey. Her evocative and emotionally charged artworks explore the primitive aspects of human existence and their connection to modern life.

Drawing inspiration primarily from self-portraits, Sauerteig-Pilaar uses the female form as her muse to express the quiet rage simmering within women. Her work delves into the darker corners of society, seeking out the unifying threads of feminism and illuminating the unspoken struggles and betrayals faced by women today.

Within the past year, her practice has expanded to include large-scale installations that confront urgent global issues, such as climate change and humanitarian crises. These installations serve as both a visual and visceral call to action, compelling audiences to engage with the realities that demand attention.
Sauerteig-Pilaar earned her BFA from Parsons School of Design in 1993. After living in New York City, she relocated to New Jersey, where her continuous experimentation with various media led to the distinctive mixed-media paper constructions for which she is best known. Her work has been exhibited in galleries and museums nationwide. In 2022, she was awarded the Eileen S. Kaminsky Family Foundation residency in Jersey City, New Jersey, and she is currently a resident at Special Project Residency 14C (2025) in Jersey City, New Jersey.