Pilar Corrias is pleased to present a solo booth by Sofia Mitsola at Art Basel Hong Kong 2021. This new body of work explores the pseudo-myth Mitsola has written, entitled Aquamarina, which follows the adventures of her female protagonists 'Aqua' and 'Marina' in the semiaquatic world they inhabit. The intertwinement of motifs found in Mitsola's paintings compliment themes of the myth which is about blood ties, sisterly love and the relationship between the characters themselves as well as the viewers. Showing four new large paintings alongside a suite of works on paper, Mitsola begins this narrative which she will continue to explore in her major solo exhibition at Pilar Corrias, London, in September 2021.
For Mitsola everything starts from drawing: this can be sketching, mark-making, writing down thoughts, and words. Once something is set on paper, it cannot be forgotten in her mind. Using charcoal drawings as a way to loosen her hand and lines, she gets to understand the forms of her figures. Through this process the artist is memorising the gesture and rhythm which is then applied to the canvas. Her paintings are about confrontation, power and control, and through the physical act of painting she is performing for her figures in the same way as they will perform for her. Mitsola gives them confidence and power to subvert the dynamics of gazing between the nude and the viewer. For the artist, her figures are reclining nudes with multiple perspectives. She is exploring the experiences of the body, what it means to be looked at and to explore the female form from within.