Redux Contemporary Art Center is excited to present ONLY ONCE IN THE LIGHT, a joint exhibition from Charleston based artists Leigh Sabisch and Allison Koch, exhibiting as Sardine Press. This new exhibition showcases the ongoing creative endeavors of the pair, who merge their energetic & multidisciplinary approach by combining oil painting and print making techniques that evolve into truly collaborative work. The artists state “As a team, we have found a way to incorporate the practices and themes of our individual work into a larger scope of collaborative making. As printmakers, we want to push our understanding of such a traditional medium as well as investigate how we can adapt to challenges we face through creating experimental pieces.” 

ONLY ONCE IN THE LIGHT is the result of the pair looking back on previous bodies of work and noting how they individually incorporate the effects of light. Their varying perceptions of light opened both artists up to the pleasure and complexities of communicating abstract ideas and translating them into a cohesive, physical, shared experience. Sabisch paints masses of twisted limbs which are layered with tonality and depth, highlighting the way light reflects on the figures. Koch plays with iridescence to refract light using gloss finishes. The exhibition results in a cohesive body of work that celebrates Sardine Press’s continued experimentation in collaboration. In addition to the six-week exhibition, the pair will host a two-day monotype workshop.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS: Leigh Sabisch graduated from College of Charleston with a double major in arts management and studio art and a minor in art history in 2017, where she met the printmaking technician, Allison Koch. Koch, also a graduate from College of Charleston, received a degree in English literature in 2011 and studio art in 2014. In 2019, the duo founded Sardine Press, the mission of which is to cram their love of printmaking and their satisfaction gained from teaching into a mid-sized RV. Together, the two artists have planned and executed printmaking fundraisers for the ACLU and Planned Parenthood as well as pop-up, hands-on printmaking events, residencies and exhibitions. 

Image credit: “Three-Legged Race Runner Up,” monotype and oil on panel, 49×49”, 2023