SOPHIE KITCHING

EXHIBITIONS & SPECIAL ProjectS

Early 2023:

New York, January 7 - February 18, 2023 solo show: Nocturne, 3A Gallery, 179 Canal Street, #5A, New York, NY 10013, USA

Copenhagen, December 3 - February 1, 2023 group show: Little shop of extraordinary personal beauty, curated by Anna Stahn, Alice Folker Gallery, Esplanaden 14, 1263 Copenhagen, Denmark

London, January 18-22, 2023 London Art Fair, The Finch Project, Business Design Centre – Islington, 52 Upper Street, London, N10QH, UK

Herning, January 27-29, 2023 Art Herning, Alice Folker Gallery, MCH Herning Kongrescenter, Østergade 37, 7400 Herning, Denmark

Dunkerque, January 28 - April 23, 2023 group show: De leur Temps (7), Un regard sur les collections privées, FRAC Grand Large — Hauts-de-France, 503 avenue des Bancs de Flandres, 59140 Dunkerque, France

2022:

Toulouse, December 22-31, 2022 Ballet sets: Don Quichotte, directed by Kader Belarbi, Théâtre du Capitole, Place du Capitole, 31000 Toulouse, France

London, November 1-5, 2022 two-person show: Degrees, Minutes & Seconds, Caroline Denervaud & Sophie Kitching, The Finch Project, Noho Showrooms, 67 Great Titchfield Street, London W1W 7PT, UK

Copenhagen, October 8 - November 26, 2022 solo show: touch of time, Alice Folker Gallery, Esplanaden 14, 1263 Copenhagen, Denmark

The Bahamas, October 1, 2022 collaboration: Invisible Green (Four Seasons), limited edition print published by Samuels Creative & Co., printed by Sugarlift, for The Ocean Club, A Four Seasons Resort, Paradise Island, The Bahamas

Copenhagen, August 25-28, 2022 group show: Enter Art Fair, Alice Folker Gallery, Tunnelfabrikken, Oceanvej 1, 2150 Nordhavn, Copenhagen, Denmark

Copenhagen, August 22 - October 1, 2022 In The Zone, curated by Efrat Edelstein, Alice Folker Gallery, Esplanaden 14, 1263 Copenhagen, Denmark

New York, May 18-22, 2022 group show & collaboration: Maison 1729, House of Ruinart x Frieze New York, Studio 525, 525 West 24th Street, New York, NY 10011, USA

Paris, March 19 - April 23, 2022 solo show: The English Garden, Galerie Isabelle Gounod, 13 rue Chapon, Paris, France

New York, March 12 - April 24, 2022 group show: i set myself to the hillside, curated by Ian Cofre, PS122 Gallery, 150 First Avenue, New York, NY 10009, USA

DON QUICHOTTE
BALLET DU CAPITOLE, TOULOUSE

Music by Ludwig Minkus
Libretto by Marius Petipa, after the novel by Miguel de Cervantès, El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha
Choreography by Kader Belarbi

On view December 22 - 31, 2022
Théâtre du Capitole, Toulouse

I worked in 2017 on the design and creation of sets for the “Prologue”, and the “Act II Marais” scene and created props including scale one piñata Horse “Rossinante” and Sancho Panza’s “Donkey”, as designing the Tree Men and Windmill.

[see more]
[download program]

Little shop of extraordinary personal beauty
ALIce Folker Gallery, Copenhagen

Opening December 3, 2022, 11am-4pm
Group Show curated by Anna Shahn

With:
Anna Stahn / Marie Rud Rosenzweig / Frederik Næblerød / Asger Harbou Gjerdevik / Maria Zahle / Casper Aguila / Nat Bloch Gregersen / Ragnhild May / Hiu Tung Lau / Bob Eikelboom / Sophie Kitching / Theodor Nymark / Erik Hällman / Noah Umur Kanber / Tal Regev

[see more]

UPCOMING SOLO SHOW
3A GALLERY, NEW YORK

[Stay tuned] !

Caroline Denervaud & Sophie Kitching
DEGREES, MINUTES & SECONDS
THE FINCH PROJECT, LONDON

November 1-5, 2022
67 Great Titchfield St.
London W1W 7PT

[see more]
info@thefinchproject.com

Text by Tiffany Jade

Transcending traditional forms of communication, Degrees, Minutes & Seconds (DMS) is the manifestation of a form of correspondence between Swiss artist, Caroline Denervaud and French-British artist, Sophie Kitching.  The exhibition represents the culmination of a remote exchange with intuitively responsive work created in diverse locations, shown on neutral territory in London. 

Spanning time zones, geographic borders, cultures and influence, the collection of paintings, works on paper and videography presented at DMS expresses a rich and meandering conversation between Caroline and Sophie.  As the two artists orbited each other across the expanses of time and place - from Paris to Maine, New York to Copenhagen and finally London - the confines of lockdowns and the constraints of everyday life has led to a channeling of each other in lieu of traditional communication.

Caroline's vast paintings, which exude an operatic expression of colour ways and compositions translated from choreographed movements of her body as it dances upon the canvas, serve to amplify the natural pattern language and gentle meticulousness of Sophie's invisible drawings. Smaller postcard sizes pieces Caroline referes to as 'flowers' echo the elemental nature of Sophie's painted lithographs. The botanical essence of Sophie's works simultaneously articulate the dense and spirited dialogue of Caroline's pieces which by contrast, accentuate the white relief of Sophie's.

DMS has emerged as a sum of its parts.  An orchestrated curation of works that refer strongly to the strengths and expressions familiar to each artist resurrected, evolved and redefined through their consideration for each other. It raises questions about intuition and altruism; the environmental effect on artworks when viewed in proximity to others; and the significant impact of degrees, minutes and seconds that converge to be relayed through the vehicle of art.

–Tiffany Jade

DEGREES, MINUTES & SECONDS
THE FINCH PROJECT, LONDON

November 1-5, 2022
Two-Person Show: Caroline Denervaud & Sophie Kitching

[see more]

touch of time
Alice Folker GaLlery, copenhagen

October 8 - November 26, 2022
Solo Show

[see more]

Installation views courtesy Alice Folker Gallery

LIMITED EDITION PRINT
The OCean ClUB, THE Bahamas

Invisible Green (Four Seasons), 2022
inkjet print on Hahnemühle photo rag matte paper
Sheet: 34 x 40 in. ; Image: 32 1/2 x 38 1/2 in.
Published by Samuels Creative & Co.
Printed by Sugarlift, New York
Edition of 35, 5 AP, 1 PP

[see more]

touch of time
Alice Folker GaLlery, copenhagen

October 8 - November 26, 2022
Solo Show

[see more]

Press Release

Alice Folker Gallery is pleased to present Sophie Kitching’s first solo exhibition in Denmark, on view at its newly opened Esplanaden 14 gallery space in Copenhagen. Entitled “touch of time”, this exhibition of new paintings, sculptures, and works on paper continues the artist’s ongoing investigations into color, perception and space as translated through the language and materiality of abstraction.

Running through the artist’s works are a series of meditations on painting and its co-mingling with modern materials of industrial production. Gentle swoops of color and a studied balance of the picture plane find a conceptual counterpoint with media sourced from the urban landscape: sheets of corrugated plastic, two-way mirrors, and meticulously cut limestone and aerated concrete. The exhibition was prepared both in New York, where Sophie Kitching lives & works, and in Paris, where she spent the summer of 2022. Spread between new series and conceptual ground, these works treat organic forms and inorganic surfaces with equal care, allowing their shared materiality to speak to a distinctly contemporary facet of modern life, a world somewhere between the man-made and the naturally occurring.

The “Invisible Green” series, for instance, draws from the titular color used in the design of English parks in the late XVIIIth century, a rich hue applied on gates and conservatories, in an attempt to blend these structures in with the fabric of the landscape around them. A form of architectural camouflage, the color here becomes a gestural foundation, which the artist embellishes with an array of subtle tones, ranging from bluish turquoise to earthy shades, adding in daubs of fuchsia, red, and bright yellow.

There’s something of the traditions of plein air painting in these works, telling an indirect tale of nature experienced far from home. Visions of surreal, plant-like creations translate the textural relations of a space to two dimensions, yet here, this approach is executed in the same register as the original, three-dimensional design, returning the distinctive English green’s function as a compositional element against the backdrop of ground and sky. Place and time remain at the center of the work’s creation, even as the artist pulls these contexts into a broader conversation of perception and history.

touch of time also features the more recent “Nocturne” series on canvas, a nod to the musical compositions of the XIXth century. Rather than a night view of her brighter, more joyful Garden green, this series acts as a functional negative, delving deeper into the representation of light and shadow using black Indian ink, mixed with neutral tones and Payne’s grey as a backdrop, allowing for intricate games of push & pull to unfold on the surface. The works begin with recognizable scenes, sometimes covering over preexisting landscapes, then drawing them away from their natural appearances, once again using abstraction less as a formal baseline for each work, and more as a process to arrive at the final image.

Other works apply a similar approach to the language of painting, using overlaid sheets of corrugated plastic and mirrored panels, each layer holding its own series of gestures, to create dense, interlocking patterns with this same engagement towards space and light. Each motion of the brush is placed against a complex series of correlating elements, defined as much by color pairings as they are by a strict hierarchy of depth and movement. Through simple overlays of polycarbonate panels, the work executes intricate explorations of the painted object, and its relation to modern questions of perception. One might even read this series as “applied abstractions,” utilizing the technical contexts of a work’s creation to open dialogues across historical and artistic eras.

A set of new sculptures in limestone and aerated concrete embrace a similar sense of spatial presence. This series of stark geometric forms hand-cut and arranged in a precarious unity, trace a fine line between minimalist tenets and an exploration of the artist’s act of placement and gesture. Further, in the series of watercolor studies on Fabriano paper, color and form are held in close conversation. Showcasing Sophie Kitching’s interest in joint themes of time and space, balance and interaction, unified by the artist’s hand and a careful study of material history, the works on view here allow a series of shared perspectives, reflecting an open process of exchange and conceptual reciprocity.

[UPCOMING SOLO SHOW]
Alice folker gallery

touch of time
Alice Folker Gallery
Copenhagen

October 8th - November 26th, 2022

[See more]

IN THE ZONE
Alice folker gallery, COPENHAGEN

August 20th - October 1st, 2022

Curated by Efrat Edelsten

With Andy Kassier (1989), Anna Stahn (1994), Asger Harbou Gjerdevik (1986), Bob Eikelboom (1991), Casper Aguila Christoffersen (1985), Frederik Næblerød (1988), Georg Haberler (1985), Helen Teede (1988), Lau Hiu Tung (1985), Marie Rud Rosenzweig (1991), Nat Bloch Gregersen (1986), Ragnhild May (1988), Sophie Kitching (1990)

MAISON 1729
RUINART X FRIEZE NEW YORK

May 20th, 2022

With Frédéric Dufour, Frédéric Panaiotis, Fabien Vallérian, Sarah Andelman, Pauline Rougier, Nathan Clements Gillespie and Sophie Kitching
Photos by Andrew Day and BFA

MAISON 1729
RUINART X FRIEZE NEW YORK

May 18-22, 2022

With Liu Bolin, Sophie Kitching, Vik Muniz, Giorgia Russell, Tomas Saraceno, David Shrigley

The House of Ruinart is pleased to present Maison 1729 during the Frieze Art Fair in New York. From May 21-22, Studio 525 (located on West 24th Street), will be reimagined as a gallery and champagne lounge in partnership with Michelin-starred COTE. The space is a reflection of Ruinart’s devotion to sustainability and the arts through a retrospective of previous collaborations with David Shrigley, Liu Bolin and Vik Muniz, among others, as well as a residency by artist Sophie Kitching.

In addition, Sophie Kitching will reveal a series of Second Skin Magnum cases that are adorned with Japanese watercolor and gold leaf accents. The limited-edition magnums of Ruinart Blanc de Blancs and Ruinart Rosé reimagined by Sophie Kitching echo the artist’s works exhibited at Maison 1729 and are exclusively available in the United States.

Photos by BFA

MAISON 1729
RUINART X FRIEZE NEW YORK

May 18-22, 2022

With Liu Bolin, Sophie Kitching, Vik Muniz, Giorgia Russell, Tomas Saraceno, David Shrigley

The House of Ruinart is pleased to present Maison 1729 during the Frieze Art Fair in New York. From May 21-22, Studio 525 (located on West 24th Street), will be reimagined as a gallery and champagne lounge in partnership with Michelin-starred COTE. The space is a reflection of Ruinart’s devotion to sustainability and the arts through a residency by artist Sophie Kitching, reimagining artwork through the upcycling of materials. Complimentary glasses of Ruinart Champagne will be served alongside unique pairings by COTE throughout the weekend

Maison 1729 will be available to invited guests on a first come, first serve basis. Register for your timeslot below, spaces are limited

Saturday, May 21st – Sunday, May 22nd
525 West 24th Street
New York, NY 10011

HOME STUDIO
GREENWICH VILLAGE

May 15, 2022

IN THE COLLECTION OF…
Daniel HUMM, New York

May 11, 2022

IN THE COLLECTION OF…
ALEXIS MABILLE, PARIS

May 3, 2022

PS122, EAST VILLAGE
STUDIO 3-10

Sept 15, 2018 – APRIL 30, 2022
Painting Space 122 Project Space Studio Resident
The end of my wonderful residency, special thanks to Luca Buvoli and Tania Bruguera.

THE ENGLISH GARDEN
Galerie Isabelle Gounod, PARIS

March 19 - April 23, 2022
Solo Show

[see more]

Photos Rebecca Fanuele

Gallery’s website: http://galerie-gounod.com/fr/expositions/presentationarchive/267/the-english-garden

THE ENGLISH GARDEN
Galerie Isabelle Gounod, PARIS

March 19 - April 23, 2022
Solo Show

[see more]

La Galerie Isabelle Gounod est heureuse de présenter The English Garden, la troisième exposition personnelle de Sophie KITCHING à la galerie.

À travers ses peintures, installations et sculptures, Sophie Kitching s’attache à décomposer l’environnement pour n’en conserver que les formes essentielles. Elle utilise des matériaux trouvés et transpose leurs propriétés affectives sur toile ou dans un espace tridimensionnel. Mêlant nature et architecture, ses œuvres explorent les corrélations entre territoire et mémoire, éveillant des réminiscences d’expériences sensibles.

L’arpentage des territoires de Sophie Kitching, artiste franco-anglaise installée aujourd’hui à New York, enregistre les tensions entre le visible et l’invisible. La gestualité de sa peinture explore la fusion douce et progressive des formes et de leurs souvenirs qui au fil du temps s’estompent pour devenir image unique.

Invisible Green est la couleur utilisée dans les parcs de la fin du 18éme siècle pendant la période géorgienne en Angleterre, pour recouvrir les barrières et treillages afin qu’ils se confondent dans la végétation environnante. En 1783, William Mason, poète, éditeur et jardinier-paysagiste anglais, y fait référence dans son poème The English Garden.

L’œuvre Payne Glacier (2021), s’inspire du gris de Payne inventé par l’aquarelliste anglais William Payne également à la fin du 18ème siècle. Attirée par ses profondes nuances de bleu et de violet, Sophie Kitching travaille ses monochromes en immergeant la toile de pastels à l’huile et de térébenthine et en y imprimant des plis successifs. Elle compose ainsi des paysages abstraits, renouant avec le traitement subtil d’ombre et de lumière.

Sur panneaux de polycarbonate, l’artiste approfondit ses expérimentations avec ce matériau brut. Les touches colorées semblent affleurer dessus, dessous, en hors champ et se jouent des transparences et des reflets dans une négociation entre espace et profondeur, comme suspendues à la surface.

Çà et là, des sculptures ponctuent la séquence picturale, rendant compte de son approche transdisciplinaire. Des briques réfractaires sculptées à la main sont maintenues en équilibre dans l’assemblage carte blanche II (2021). Des pierres calcaires sont associées au béton cellulaire de Pagoda Eye (2019). Enfin, un store vénitien tout en transparence, presque immatériel, semble fendre l’espace...  

“The paint is spread; the barrier pales retire,
Snatch’d, as by magic, from the gazer’s view.”
William Mason, The English Garden, Book II, A. Ward, 1783

“La peinture est étendue ; les pieux de la barrière disparaissent,
Soustraits, comme par magie, à la vue du spectateur.”

I SET MYSELF TO THE HILLSIDE
PS122 GALLERY

March 12 - April 24, 2022

Curated by Ian Cofre
With Clare Churchouse, Deville Cohen, Marley Freeman, Shadi Harouni, Christopher K. Ho, Sophie Kitching, Sreshta Rit Premnath, and Hernán Rivera Luque

PS122 Gallery is pleased to present i set my face to the hillside, a group exhibition featuring eight current and recent resident artists from the Painting Space 122 Project Studio Residency, including Clare Churchouse, Deville Cohen, Marley Freeman, Shadi Harouni, Christopher K. Ho, Sophie Kitching, Sreshta Rit Premnath, and Hernán Rivera Luque. The exhibition is on view from March 12 – April 24, 2022.

“Kitching’s neon installation in an interstitial space that is visible from the street, as well as her painting in the West Gallery, are self-referential gestures that refer to the architecture of the gallery and its surroundings.”

[see more]

Gallery’s website: https://ps122gallery.org/2022/03/i-set-my-face-to-the-hillside/