Sculptor Alison Saar has worked with plenty of materials laden with metaphorical possibilities, but until she did a stint in 2011 as artist-in-residence at Pilchuk Glass School in Seattle, she had never worked with glass. The experience laid the groundwork for “Alison Saar: Still . . .” at the Sandra and David Bakalar Gallery at Massachusetts College of Art and Design.
The artist has for decades made searing pieces that reveal stinging biases based on race and sex. At Pilchuk, her work echoed the look of laboratory glass and moonshine stills. These make up the center of this show organized by the Otis College of Art and Design. It takes on horrible clarity as it distills some of the muck of prejudice and historical injustice.
For instance, “Still Run Dry” looks like discarded, half-finished lab experiments, or abandoned still equipment, only the glass receptacles are modeled after body parts: lungs, breasts, a sliced-open womb