Mexican artist Bosco Sodi’s signature lava-like material paintings – an otherworldly combination of intense monochrome pigment, sawdust, pulp, natural fibres and glue – have been given an intriguing twist following his two-week artist residency at Axel Vervoordt’s Hong Kong gallery. The uncharacteristically large body of work, part of a solo exhibition opening on 13 February, encapsulates the artist’s familiar use of lush colours and organic earthiness.
But when Sodi started working in the airy, light-filled, industrial loft in Wong Chuk Hang, he found the locally sourced sawdust absorbs pigments completely differently, transforming the results. ‘When I paint in Berlin the sawdust is very dark; in Mexico the one I get is very white,’ he says.
Untitled, 2019, by Bosco Sodi, mixed media on canvas.
This is also the first time the artist has worked with turquoise, although it has long had an emotional connection for him. Sodi explains, ‘The colour reminds me of my childhood and [the Mexico edge of] the Caribbean Sea, the Agua Azul waterfalls, and cenotes. It is also my mother’s favourite colour.’
Sodi mixes his own paints and stretches linen specially sourced from South Korea to create the canvases, before starting to work quickly on several of varying sizes at the same time, applying the dense, wet, organic mixture in rough layers by hand, adding handfuls and smearing and pushing the material until the first major fissure appears as it dries and contracts. ‘It is a very organic and instinctive process,’ he notes.
RELATED STORY
The artist finds the process of making his art meditative. When, as a young boy, he was diagnosed with dyslexia and hyperactivity, his mother took him to an art class. ‘Painting became an escape for me. This is my therapy in a way and I still prefer to work quietly without any disturbance.’ The show has 17 paintings ranging from 26.5 x 17.5cm to 180 x 220cm, but each monochromatic surface is different in its own interesting ways with a distinct materiality, from the small exuberant pieces like molten volcanic lava bubbling on the surface to the larger works’ sheer, raw, visceral landscapes. Some are dramatically slashed as if the material had split.
It is the curious combination of control and spontaneity that excites Sodi the most. ‘I focus much more on the process than on the outcome,’ he says. ‘The shape and scale of the canvas, the painting as an object that transmits meaning — everything else becomes secondary to the experience of colour. What matters is the power of what you see.’ The untitled works are presented alongside five clay sculptures shaped and smoothed by hand into precise cubes and circles before being fired at Sodi’s Casa Wabi studio in Mexico in a traditional brick kiln, giving the clay a terracotta hue.
Watch a behind-the-scenes look at Sodi’s Hong Kong exhibition.
Untitled, 2019, by Bosco Sodi, mixed media on canvas
Untitled, 2019, by Bosco Sodi, mixed media on canvas
Sodi’s works in progress at Axel Vervoordt Hong Kong.
INFORMATION
‘Bosco Sodi’, 13 February – 5 September, Axel Vervoordt Hong Kong. axel-vervoordt.com
ADDRESS
Axel Vervoordt Gallery
21F, Coda Designer Centre
62 Wong Chuk Hang Road
Hong Kong
-
How architects are redefining disaster relief through designDisaster relief architecture is a critical component of humanitarian aid across the globe; read our ultimate guide on how architects can make a difference through design
-
Paul Gulati on storytelling, multi-sensory design and the evolution of Universal Design Studio'f a space works – not just as a beautiful image, but for the people using it – then we’ve done our job,' he tells us
-
Seiko and Datsun mark a shared heritage and history with three new limited-edition watchesThe Japanese brands pay tribute to the Datsun 240Z and Prospex Speedtimer in a new collaboration
-
Rolf Sachs’ largest exhibition to date, ‘Be-rühren’, is a playful study of touchA collection of over 150 of Rolf Sachs’ works speaks to his preoccupation with transforming everyday objects to create art that is sensory – both emotionally and physically
-
After decades capturing the world’s fashion-set, photographer Johnny Rozsa picks up a paint brushIn his first exhibition of paintings, the New York-based artist celebrates the vibrancy of Tangier while rediscovering a familiar creative outlet
-
Leila Bartell’s cloudscapes are breezily distorted, a response to an evermore digital world‘Memory Fields’ is the London-based artist’s solo exhibition at Tristan Hoare Gallery (until 25 July 2025)
-
Marlene Dumas’ charged, exposed and intimate figures gather in AthensThe artist’s work from 1992 until the present day goes on show at Athens’ Museum of Cycladic Art (until 2 November)
-
Get lost in Megan Rooney’s abstract, emotional paintingsThe artist finds worlds in yellow and blue at Thaddaeus Ropac London
-
Kaari Upson’s unsettling, grotesque and seductive world in DenmarkThe Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Denmark is staging the first comprehensive survey of late artist Kaari Upson’s work
-
Inside the brilliant and short career of Paul Thek: 'The goal was to live a creative existence as a maker – and he lived in a saint-like fashion'Paul Thek's paintings are now viewable at Thomas Dane Gallery in London, in an exhibition curated by Kenny Schacter and Jonathan Anderson.
-
Lubaina Himid and Magda Stawarska’s new show at Kettle’s Yard will uncover the missing narratives in everyday life storiesThe artists and partners in life are collaborating on an immersive takeover of Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge, in an exhibition that delves into a lost literary legacy
