THE HUG

SARAHCROWN is pleased to announce The Hug, a group show featuring works by Fanny Allié (b. 1981, FR), Pippa El-Kadhi Brown (b. 1996, UK), Andreana Dobreva (b. 1982, BG), and Megan Menzies (b. 1995, UK).

The Hug unfolds as a quiet act shared between bodies, memories, and moments. It is about how we hold one another, and how we try to hold onto what is already slipping away. At its core are interpersonal relationships: the tenderness between people, the ache of yearning, the warmth of a blanket. There is nostalgia—not as something fixed, but as a sensation, half-remembered and still becoming.

The exhibition brings together works by contemporary artists Fanny Allié (b. 1981, FR), Pippa El-Kadhi Brown (b. 1996, UK), Andreana Dobreva (b. 1982, BG), and Megan Menzies (b. 1995, UK). The works range from intimate explorations of the human body to abstract, colorful canvases that hint at objects, people, and fleeting memories. They share playful and fantastical qualities, creating a softened, dreamlike reality. Forms hover between thingness not yet fully formed and emotions not yet named, inviting the viewer into a space of gentle wonder.

Fanny Allié is a French-born, New York–based artist whose work centers on tenderness, memory, and the fragile traces of human presence. Her mixed-media installations and textiles, often made from everyday and discarded materials, convey softness and care while acknowledging impermanence. Fragmented or ghost-like figures appear suspended between presence and disappearance, evoking the sensation of trying to hold onto something fleeting. Layers of fabric accumulate like emotional residues, suggesting how relationships leave marks on both bodies and spaces. Her practice transforms empathy and human closeness into quiet, tactile gestures.

Pippa El-Kadhi Brown is a British-Iraqi painter known for vibrant interior scenes that evoke warmth, familiarity, and emotional atmosphere. ⁠Her paintings construct inner-worlds shaped by sensation, touch and memory, like rooms still carrying the presence of those who inhabited them. Flattened perspectives and luminous, shifting colors create psychological spaces where sensation outweighs realism. Through layered patterns and unexpected palettes, nostalgia appears fluid and continuously forming rather than fixed. Her paintings become immersive environments that wrap around the viewer with quiet intimacy.

Andreana Dobreva creates atmospheric paintings that explore perception, distance, and emotional resonance. Balancing abstraction and representation, her works use diffused light and soft transitions to form spaces that feel suspended between memory and presence. Landscapes and architectural fragments emerge gradually, as if shaped by sensation rather than observation. Subtle tonal layers evoke longing and the experience of reaching toward something just beyond grasp. Her contemplative compositions invite viewers into a gentle, immersive state of awareness.

Megan Menzies is a contemporary British painter whose work focuses on intimacy, vulnerability, and emotionally charged moments. Her cropped scenes of bodies, gestures, and quiet encounters appear through a dreamlike atmosphere that blurs memory and reality. Recurring red and pink hues stem from her interpretation of blushing, symbolizing emotional exposure, closeness, and human sensitivity. Layered paint and translucent surfaces mirror the way memories soften as we try to hold onto them. The resulting images feel tender and introspective, capturing the fragile boundary between being held and letting go.

The Hug exists as a simple, shared gesture. It reminds us that relationships are built not only through words, but through presence, touch, and quiet attention. An invitation to pause, to feel imperfectly, and to be held. Because in the end, everybody needs a hug. 

A press preview will be held on March 13, 10 AM -12 PM. The opening reception will take place on March 13, 6-8 PM. 
For images, additional info, and private walkthroughs, please contact info@sarahcrown.com.