Sonia Gomes at Blum & Poe

At Blum & Poe, São Paulo-based artist Sonia Gomes’ first U.S. solo exhibition, When the Sun Rises in Blue, uses fabric and found media to create idiosyncratic sculptural objects that speak to memory, soul, and connection. Found materials such as bird cages, driftwood, and fishnets ground the sculptures physically, while also providing nuanced links to the individuals whose lives these objects have passed through.

In one untitled sculpture, a low tree branch acts as the armature for the work, its limbs supporting a jumble of fabric material that has been strapped and lashed together in a tangle of color — like many of the works on view, gravity and tension become key collaborators here. Installed in a lowly-lit gallery is Sinfonia Branca (White Symphony), a site specific work that includes dozens of cocoon-like formations that dangle from the ceiling. The work again relies on gravity to pull the fabric constructions in tension towards the floor, while the natural-hued cellular forms point to sci-fi narratives and natural growth structures.

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Photo: Sonia Gomes, When the Sun Rises in Blue (installation view) (2021). Image courtesy of the artist, Blum & Poe, Los Angeles/New York/Tokyo and Mendes Wood DM, Sao Paulo/ Brussels/ New York. Photo: Josh Schaedel.