Gallery Opening at the Arts Station by Sofia with F

Opening the latest gallery exhibit: Taking the Piece by Sofia with F.

Opening night features a cash bar and complimentary nibbles, and a chance to chat with the artist about their work. All welcome. The exhibit will be on display in the gallery through April. 

Artist Bio

Sofia With F, a Spanish illustrator and graphic designer, advocates fun by placing whimsy, sarcasm, and hedonism at the heart of her illustrations. Employing a predominantly monochromatic palette with splashes of colour, Sofia prioritizes amusement and spontaneity in her work. Her linear illustrations are a reflection of an unconventional third-culture upbringing, and the everlasting influences of punk fanzines, internet culture, and Riot Grrrl music.

While her child-like imagery may initially convey absurdism, a deeper exploration reveals an introspective outlook on identity, social commentary, and a nuanced love-hate relationship with the world. Diverse materials form the bedrock of Sofia's creations, ranging from dried-out Sharpie markers, to calligraphic ink to oil pastels. Her artistic pursuit seeks a delicate balance between freehand drawing, narrative and humor. Through varied printing techniques such as linocut, mono printing, woodcut, and etching, each medium contributes texture and depth to her exploration of contemporary culture. Narrative and storytelling are intrinsic to her practice, as diary entries, snippets of conversations, and peculiarities from her surroundings are reshaped into self-published works like zines and comics.

Sofia embraces an alternative approach to illustration, consistently pushing the boundaries of line quality and visual outcomes. Limiting the control of chosen media prompts an instinct-driven methods, making the process as amusing and unpredictable as the potential outcomes. Techniques like drawing with her non-dominant hand, speed drawing, or using found materials as unconventional brushes all serve to remove preciousness from the creative journey.

Artist Statement

It’s no secret we’re living in an era of ethical crisis. Our collective anxiety continues to escalate, we’re desensitized to fakeness, and truth is decentralized. Our world is saturated with visual bombardment, cloaked in artificial optimism that conceals deeper truths. I propose an antidote to this façade: a collection that blurs the line between wisdom and mockery, inviting viewers to revel in the absurdity of existence.

Drawing inspiration from the ethos of contemporary Dadaism and the playful irreverence of artists like David Shrigley, Joe Lycett, and Mr. Bingo, I invite viewers to embrace hedonism with open arms. My exhibit proposal for the Fernie Arts Station seeks to provoke unconventional thought through seemingly nonsensical yet tongue-in-cheek art pieces.

At the heart of this collection lies drawings, prints and paintings, fusing “inspirational quotes” and visuals drawn from a digital archive of seemingly random ephemera. These seemingly disparate elements serve as a reflection of our daily encounter with visual overload sugar-coated by fake positivity. They provoke contemplation, appearing simultaneously ludicrous and profound: a testament to the absurdity inherent in our increasingly surreal society. Absurdism as a style and philosophy shows an inverted side of reality, juxtaposing things that shouldn’t exist together as an exploration of reality within our increasingly surreal society. It’s time to relish in the absurd and not take life too seriously.

My artistic journey, heavily influenced by the digital landscape of platforms like Tumblr, has led me to curate archives of digital inspiration: photographs of mundane objects, emotionally resonant ephemera, and cultural references. These archives, spanning from thrift store finds to nostalgic memes, serve as the catalyst for my creativity. They fuel the whimsy and playfulness evident in my illustrative and print-focused art practice.

Employing a diverse array of materials, from dried-out Sharpie markers to calligraphic ink and oil pastels, I strive for a delicate balance between freehand drawing and humour. My artwork finds life through various printing methods such as linocut, mono printing, woodcut, and etching, each technique lending texture and depth to my explorations of the absurd.

This exhibit is not merely a display of whimsy but an invitation—to laugh in the face of the nonsensical, to relish the joy in life's absurdities, and to challenge the veneer of manufactured positivity. It's an opportunity to pause, reflect, and, above all, to embrace the freedom of unbridled fun.