Sarah D'Ambrosio's exhibition, Brooklyn, Berlin, reflects on her experiences in Coney Island and Berlin's bathhouses. In Brooklyn, D'Ambrosio notes the unique social agreements surrounding nudity, emphasizing a mixture of playfulness and poverty. Her works like The Wave Game and The Liar capture this dichotomy. In contrast, Berlin offers freedoms associated with public nudity and drinking, creating a sense of safety and belonging. D'Ambrosio's paintings showcase these themes with arc-like gestures and references to renowned artists, bridging the cultural landscapes of the two cities.
D'Ambrosio considers the familiar area's contradictions, its "colorful, playful atmosphere and its not-so-picturesque beach mixed with poverty, strangeness, uncleanliness, and tragedy."
In Berlin, you can't cross on a red light without being scolded by a stranger, but you can swim naked in a public lake, drink in the streets, or spend 24 hours in a nightclub.
The paintings of Brooklyn, Berlin are almost entirely rendered in arc-like gestures.
D'Ambrosio encountered a parallel kind of freedom, enabled by collective respect for rules and directness.
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