BACCHANALIA
a Sophie Dickens Exhibition
Exhibition curator Gio'Gatto - KJS Gallery

A perfect union between the works of Sophie Dickens and the place that will host them, having as its theme the it shows the feasts in honor of the god of wine, Bacchus.

The works created by the artist are created starting from poor material, destined to become waste. Sophie Dickens , in fact, starts from old oak barrels now abandoned to use metal and wood and give life, from where the wine was aged, to upcycling works of art that go to celebrare this precious drink.

There could therefore have been no better place to host such an art exhibition than the < b> WiMu , the International Wine Museum, at the Marchesi Falletti Castle in Barolo .

It all starts with an intuition of the artist who in an ancient rural house from the early 1800s, in the Ligurian hinterland, finds bottles, glass demijohns and gigantic oak barrels. All this disused material inspires Sophie to create her personal exhibition “Bacchanalia”. “ The Dancer of Bacchus " is the first sculpture of this series created by Sophie with wooden slats and the iron ribs of those barrels built to keep the wine.

Sophie Dickens has always worked iron and wood for her works, she cuts, welds, overlaps until these 2 materials become animated works.

On this occasion the wine, the archaic forms that contain it, both physically and philosophically, become the common thread that from the myth creates a direct connection with the earth or better still with the territory, transforming itself into dynamic energy that pervades the world so much. animals, as plastically fixed in their vital impulses as that of men, immortalized in endless ecstatic dances.

The Artist
Sophie Dickens is an internationally renowned British sculptor whose works are scattered around the world ( The factsheet on ARTSY) .

His classical training in drawing and his profound knowledge of form, also acquired thanks to his degree from the prestigious Courtauld Institute of Art in London , allow her to create works that move in all directions; be it a quick sketch or a monumental sculpture, her work is full of dynamism.

Through meticulous anatomical studies, Sophie constructs armor, welding iron bars as skeletal drawings on which she begins to tie specially cut pieces of wood, recovered from old disused floors, from oak or chestnut roof beams. .

Using fluid dynamics to understand the nature of convex and concave shapes, he creates muscle movements similar to classic Eadweard Muybridge that closely influenced it, resulting in a coherent kinematic sensation of bones, muscles and tendons.

Using a strong natural talent, she infuses life and character into her work, creating monumental sculptures full of passion and vitality, in which the internal mechanisms of the body and mind explode through the skin and form its outer shell. br>
The creations and sculptures of Sophie Dickens reflect a modern primitivism, often with elongated arms and legs that animate creatures full of strength and movement. Her favorite subjects revolve mainly around nature, animals, mythology, the elements and humanity. They are full of poetry with lyrical forms and emotional poses. Needless to say, the British artist fully inherited the family's ability to evoke the senses, as was his great-great-grandfather Charles Dickens : Sophie Dickens can talk to anyone without the need for words.