Untitled

Bosco Sodi

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About the Artwork

When Bosco Sodi was a child playing on the beach he would pour drops of wet sand on top of one another to create unpredictable organic forms. Inspired by these early sculptures, Sodi began to collect the leftover materials from his paintings (sawdust mixed with pigment and white glue). Layering these studio residues on top of eachother, day after day, year after year, they began to resemble something like the stalagmites in ancient caves.

In 2012 Hurricane Sandy hit New York and Sodi’s studio was flooded with 6 feet of water. Everything was destroyed except for the sawdust stalagmites. Unsure of how the deterioration caused by polluted salt water would progress, Sodi quickly decided to cast each one in bronze, destroying the original in the process.

These unique sculptures are the only pieces of art that survived the terrible impact Hurricane Sandy had on Sodi’s studio. They carry a story of creation and destruction, of time and the cyclical tendencies in nature. They offer hope in the face of the devastating consequences of climate change.

Year: 2013


Copyright the artist, courtesy of König Galerie, Berlin/London and Axel Vervoordt Gallery, Antwerp. Photo: © Nick Turpin

Material

Bronze

Dimensions

312 x 120 x 120 cm

Artist Biography

Bosco Sodi

Bosco Sodi (born 1970 in Mexico City, Mexico) lives and works in New York City, USA and Oaxaca, Mexico. He is known for his richly textured, vividly colored large-scale paintings. Sodi has discovered an emotive power within the essential crudeness of the materials that he uses to execute his paintings. Focusing on material exploration, the creative gesture, and the spiritual connection between the artist and his work, Sodi seeks to transcend conceptual barriers. “Explanations about my work represent the biggest obstacle to its experience: words become hollow and obsolete. The intention of my work is to be observed and experienced.”, Bosco Sodi says about his practice. The work itself becomes a memory and a relic symbolic of the artist’s conversation with the raw material that brought the painting into creation. Alongside his artistic practice, Sodi is also the founder of Fundación Casa Wabi, an art centre in Oaxaca, Mexico dedicated to promoting the exchange of ideas between international artists of different disciplines. Designed by Japanese architect Tadao Ando, the foundation also develops opportunities for art education with local communities. Sodi’s works are in significant public and private collections including: 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan; Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, USA; Deutsche Bank, New York, USA; Harvard Art Museums, Massachusetts, USA; Museum der bildenden Künste, Leipzig, Germany; Museum of Contemporary Art, Antwerp, Belgium; Museum Voorlinden, Wassenaar, Netherlands; Nasher Sculpture Center, Texas, USA; New Orleans Museum of Art, Louisiana, USA; The Museum of Modern Art, Gunma, Japan; The National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia; The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C., USA; The Scottish National Gallery of Art, Edinburgh, Scotland and the Walker Art Center, Minnesota, USA. Sodi’s work is also currently on view at Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, USA. Forthcoming exhibitions include Fondazione dell'Albero d'Oro, Venice, Italy and University of South Florida Contemporary Art Museum, Tampa, USA.