Sofia Laskari: Body and Flesh at the Saatchi Gallery

Sofia Laskari, winner of the Robert Walters New Artist prize, debuts at the Saatchi Gallery with a very personal solo exhibition entitled Body and Flesh. The paintings on display are for the most part nude self-portraits that depict the artist in solitary moments of reflection, idleness or dejection. The exhibition celebrates self-exploration and total acceptance of the self as it invites the viewer to be just as open and accepting.

The central theme that unites all the works is vulnerability and the idea of daring to expose the self without barriers and without adjustment. The artist’s aim is to move away from sexualisation of the female figure and rather present the naked body as a form that can simply exist in a matter-of-fact way, expressing a myriad other feelings such as fear, boredom, anger or restlessness. In one painting, the subject is sitting in a bath with a listless expression on her face, in another she screams, or knits, or lies down curled in a foetal position. Two paintings see her biting her own arm, perhaps as a coping reflex, or an impulse stemming from frustration, or merely as a form of exploration.

Taking on both the roles of model and artist, Laskari takes full charge of the portraiture process, fulfilling the dominant position of the observer as well as that of the observed. A harmonious palette and soft lines of oil on canvas bring to life the bare skin of the subject, which, seen up close, is a landscape of reddish, beige, grey and bluish stains – a vivid mixture of light shades and dark blotches. Even the canvases themselves, which are left unstretched, give an idea of spontaneity, of sharing with the public something usually reserved for the eye of the artist alone.

While excellent in its intent, the exhibition is confined to a very small personal sphere so its scope can feel limited. Nevertheless, the skill of the artist and the sense of intimacy she imparts through her works are intriguing and add an interesting perspective to the centuries-long artistic conversation regarding the female body.

Mersa Auda

Sofia Laskari: Body and Flesh is at the Saatchi Gallery from 16^th March until 12^th May 2024. For further information visit the exhibition’s website here.