The Opening Gallery and ERIS ART are pleased to announce Between Worlds, a new body of work by Sophus that will be open to the public from June 14th to 27th.

Automatic renderings of the artist’s emotions, these works sit at the border of still-life portraiture and figurative abstraction. They mine transitional moments from Sophus’s life in extraordinary depictions of visceral blossoms. Channelling moments, persons, and emotions, the intertwining roots and bristle-like vegetation depicted in these paintings disperse wild, sprawling charcoal and red-pigmented lines that, exuding both serenity and madness, seem to flesh out our primordial past through an ethereal and oracular aura. A focal point throughout the last seven years of
his practice, Sophus’s botanic and dendritic motifs emphasize the interconnectedness woven into the very patchwork of life. They are inspired by the beauty, the pain, and the sublime nature that make up everyday moments. Stretching outside the canvas, such patterns find a surface on the body that creates them, allowing us to find recurring motifs on Sophus’s figure as much as in his paintings.  Sophus is intentionally delicate in his depictions and intensely attentive at every step of his creation. His works are woven with organic, sometimes impermanent, materials that, plucked from the world that surrounds him, are retrieved from the encounters and moments that have marked him. Through a process of intuitive making, the layers of his works are seasoned with naturally loaded materials. They are first hand-stitched with cotton and linen, and then saturated with tea, coffee, and charcoal thistle-like sketches, which, when accompanied by text fragments that oscillate between hopeful platitudes and words of empowerment, snatch everyday wisdom as a final touch to Sophus’s canvas.

Sophus is a Danish artist based in Berlin. He studied at the Akademie der bildenden Künste in Vienna and has since lived in Mexico and Nepal. His works have featured in numerous international shows over the last decade and more, always meeting with considera- ble acclaim. They also form part of notable art collec- tions. Between Worlds is his first solo show in the US.

The Opening Gallery was launched as an initiative that supports contemporary art and international artists be- yond the confines of the art market, while it fosters cul- tural engagement and exchanges between the US and the globe. This alternative art ecosystem attempts to go beyond prevalent gallery models and to showcase global underrep- resented artists, and the work of women artists and artists of color. 50% of the proceeds support neurodiversity and charitable causes, and 25% of the proceeds are donated to the non-profit Luv Michael, which is committed to enrich- ing the lives of autistic adults.

ERIS ART is the art branch of independent publisher ERIS PRESS, based in London and New York. The press publish- es art, literature, and nonfiction, with a particular emphasis on politics and philosophy. Recent and forthcoming titles include Maurice Saatchi’s memoir Do Not Resuscitate: The Life and Afterlife of Maurice Saatchi, Andreas Philippopou- los-Mihalopoulos’s short story collection Book of Water, Walter Benn Michaels and Adolph Reed, Jr.’s No Politics but Class Politics, Kenneth Goldsmith’s I Declare a Permanent State of Happiness, and Thomas Schlesser’s biography of the artist Anna-Eva Bergman, Luminous Lives.

Press Contact: Angus Ledingham | angus@eris.press