Sophie Vallance’s practice as a painter is an intense examination of moving through life, a conversation with herself. Encounters from her everyday are re-imagined on her large square canvases, half reality, half fantasy. Her imagery draws heavily on the use of animals, self portraiture, food and scenes based on real events, with the themes within her practice ranging from humorous to darkly sad. She is currently based in Glasgow but has lived in both Berlin and London, allowing her practice to naturally evolve over time, not tied to a particular geographical place but rather tied to life experiences wherever they occur. She has exhibited internationally in both group and solo shows including at Union Gallery (London), T293 (Rome), L21 (Spain), Breach (Miami), Kogan Amaro (São Paulo), Everyday Gallery (Belgium), NBB (Berlin), Guts Gallery (London) among others. Her own voice exists between feminist practices, cathartic art making, processes of confession, folklore and storytelling, and ultimately her work is an expression of self reflection as she grows and changes as a person.
Taking the form of large square canvases rich with naive, representational symbolism, Vallance’s practice is charged with immediacy: the act of making is an urgent search for relief. Characterised by quick flurries of activity, and long periods of looking in between, her decision making process is meditation like in nature, and actively challenges the need for external control. Painting becomes an exercise in being present, an antidote to rigidity and restraint, a starving of the parasite.
Encounters are founded in reality, and brought to life in imagination, with the existence portrayed in the paintings hovering somewhere in-between. Rife with self-referential citations, inside jokes, recurring outfits, characters and motifs - the paintings speak of a certain intimacy and portrayal of closeness which comes from the act of sharing spaces and everyday life closely with a partner and animals. Seemingly small moments are observed and transformed through the act of painting itself, taking on greater meanings, and becoming part of a richly woven visual language of paintings all in conversation with each other.
The motif of the Cat has grown, transformed and moved with the practice itself over time. It has been appearing in paintings since 2016 and has been an intrinsic component within her practice in terms of storytelling and self reflection, both as a person and an artist. Over time, the need for specific narrative within every work began to fall away, leaving behind a visual language and the act of creating paintings themselves.
