Pippy Houldsworth Gallery is pleased to present Todos os Seres são de Todos os Seres (All Beings are of All Beings), Brazilian-born, London-based artist Sophia Loeb’s first solo exhibition, comprising new paintings and sculpture.
In her luminous abstractions, Loeb protests humanity’s view of its superior status within the universal system and advocates for harmony with the natural world. A philosophy of oneness infuses the otherworldly places that she imagines in her work, each painting depicting primordial scenery, unimpacted by the destructive impulses of humankind. Growing up in Brazil, Loeb spent much of her childhood in nature and developed an acute understanding of and humility towards her place in the natural order. Although as humans we often take the environments that we colonise for granted, Loeb posits that we ultimately belong to an ecosystem in which all things come from one another.
With her painting, Loeb conceives of an alternative reality in which violence towards the natural world is exchanged for compassion, and in which the ephemeral cycle of natural phenomena is allowed to run its course through processes of healing, reprogramming and reconstruction. She affirms the inseparable connection between all beings as equals: ‘creature as landscape, landscape as creature’. In this way, Loeb invites her viewers to take responsibility for our presence on Earth and urges us to question our anthropocentric attitudes. The torture of earth relates to the human psyche, reflecting internal trauma that manifests externally in ignorant and often unconscious injury. An awareness of the total interconnectedness of the micro to the macro would perpetuate lasting change in our attitudes towards our planet.
Loeb takes a sculptural approach to painting, constantly turning the canvas as she works. Making use of unconventional tools, as well as applying loose pigment and oil stick with her hands, instinct guides her gesture. Whether working on an intimate or monumental scale, she explores depth and perspective through expansive volcanic and floral motifs, and a velveteen application of paint. Her work materialises sensation, be it internal – our thoughts and feelings, for example – or external – our perception of other life and environments. This synesthetic relationship to painting is in no small part connected with the artist’s meditation practice, something that she considers a fundamental instrument for progress, both personal and artistic. Silencing her thoughts creates space for the sacred rhythms of the forest; through the howling of wind, tropical rain, the chirping of birds and grasshoppers, the crackle of fire and warmth of sunlight on skin, Loeb contemplates life in its purest essence.
Sophia Loeb (b. 1997, Sao Paulo, Brazil) lives and works in London. In 2023 she received her MA in Painting from the Royal College of Art. She earned her BA in Fine Art and History of Art at Goldsmiths, University of London, after completing a Foundation year at Camberwell College of Arts. Loeb has been included in group exhibitions at Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, London (2023); Galerie Marguo, Paris (2023); Spread Museum, Entrevaux (2021); and Lamb Gallery, London (2018), amongst others. She has participated in residencies at the School of Visual Arts, New York and Kaaysa Arte Residência, Brazil.
