Isabel Cortes

Isabel Cortes, also known as Sabe, is a New York-based artist whose work revolves around the visceral language of flesh. Her practice explores the tension between dissociation and deep, almost obsessive curiosity about the human body — its organic systems, mechanical functions, and the uncanny line between life and objecthood. Sabe’s fascination with meat as a subject stems from personal experiences that revealed what happens when the body no longer functions as it should. These moments transformed her perception of flesh from a simple biological matter into a deeply symbolic and emotional landscape. Through abstract depictions of guts, fat, tissue, and grease, Sabe confronts the viewer with the physicality of being. She primarily works in oil paint, a medium that mirrors the translucence and density of flesh, at once limpid and solid. Yet her exploration isn't bound to one medium; she's experimented with various materials that intentionally distort or distance the viewer from the reality of meat and its connection to the living body. In doing so, Sabe invites discomfort, reflection, and an uneasy beauty that challenges how we understand our own corporeality.