Lillian Blades (Bahamian, born 1973). Perennial (detail), 2024. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Cydney Maria Rhines.
Visitors walking through a large glass installation artwork hanging in a large white gallery space.
Visitors viewing Lillian Blades: Through the Veil, June 1-October 26, 2025, Sarasota Art Museum. Photo by Harry Sayer.
Installation of hanging glass curtains
Installation view of Lillian Blades: Through the Veil at Sarasota Art Museum, Sarasota, Florida, 2025. Photo: Ryan Gamma.
Hanging curtain of different colored glass
Lillian Blades (Bahamian, born 1973). Curved Spectrum, 2025.
Mixed-media wired assemblage, 8 x 18 ft. Installation view of Lillian Blades: Through the Veil at Sarasota Art Museum, Sarasota, Florida, 2025. Photo: Ryan Gamma.
hanging curtains of different colored glass and assemblages
Installation view of Lillian Blades: Through the Veil at Sarasota Art Museum, Sarasota, Florida, 2025. Photo: Ryan Gamma.
Hanging structure with glass
Lillian Blades (Bahamian, born 1973). Subtle Divergence, 2025. Mixed-media wired assemblage, 8 x 12 ft. Installation view of Lillian Blades: Through the Veil at Sarasota Art Museum, Sarasota, Florida, 2025. Photo: Ryan Gamma.
Lillian Blades in the studio. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Toni Smailagic.
Lillian Blades in the studio.
Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Toni Smailagic.

Lillian Blades: Through the Veil

June 1–October 26, 2025

In her first solo museum exhibition, Lillian Blades presents an array of recent and new works, exploring themes of memory, connection, self-discovery, and cultural identity. An immersive labyrinth of mixed media “veils” anchors the exhibition, inviting visitors to step inside, wander through, and lose themselves within the dense layers of made and found materials. These radiant tapestries suspended from the ceiling shimmer with reflective surfaces, bouncing color and light throughout the space and imbuing the exhibition with dynamic energy.

Blades’ vivid color palette is inspired by her island upbringing in The Bahamas. Her artistic process of wiring eclectic materials into large-scale assemblages pays homage to the legacy of her late mother, a skilled seamstress who passed away as a result of the artist’s birth.

The result is a patchwork of objects, ideas, and identities, manifesting as an elaborate, suspended maze. The artist’s search for connection unfolds as a kaleidoscope of color, form, and texture—immersing visitors in a dynamic dialogue between past and present, their surroundings, and their own reflections.

Lillian Blades: Through the Veil is organized by Sarasota Art Museum of Ringling College of Art and Design and curated by Lacie Barbour, associate curator of exhibitions at Sarasota Art Museum.

This exhibition is made possible, in part, with generous support from:


Platinum Sponsors
Judy and Fred Fiala


Silver Sponsors
Marge and Leon Ellin

Learn more about this exhibition in the curatorial essay below

Download the PDF

Happenings

Large pink playscape on a green lawn with children playing in the foreground

Sarasota Art Museum Announces New Site-Specific Outdoor Playscape, “Natural Curiosity,” is Open for Play

Sarasota Art Museum of Ringling College of Art and Design (SAM) is pleased
to announce the addition of a new playscape located on the Museum’s Great Lawn. Titled “Natural Curiosity,” this piece will serve as part art installation, part outdoor classroom, inspiring creativity, social connection and well-being for locals, tourists and school students alike.
Designed by Brooklyn, New York-based, award-winning multidisciplinary design studio The
Urban Conga, this inviting, site-specific installation will create a dynamic outdoor respite for Museum visitors, sparking connection with nature and social activity through open-ended play.