On Saturday, November 30, 2024, from 12:00 PM to 8:00 PM, the spaces of the Teatro del Pepe in Rome will host the inauguration of “Inattese Apparizioni” [Unexpected Apparitions], a photographic exhibition by Sofia Neri, curated by Simona Brusa.
Sofia Neri (Varese, 1990) is a multifaceted artist: pianist, dancer, composer, and photographer. She undertook classical studies and an in-depth educational path in the field of philosophy. Her humanity is deeply rooted in her mother, a dancer and pedagogue who was a student of the famous Rosalia Chladek, and in her father, a psychologist and scholar.
Together with her partner Sandro Pignataro, she founded the Duo PhiloSophia, becoming an ambassador for new artistic and cultural approaches with individuals and companies. In 2023, with her work “Iridescenza,” she won the 70th Premio Rotonda di Livorno, Under 35.
She has participated in significant exhibitions in Venice, Miami, Budapest, and Paris. In December 2023, she will exhibit at the Red Dot Art Week in Miami for Art Basel, in Dubai, and in Berlin. Following that, she will publish a photographic book titled “The Child and Dance.” Some of her works have been selected for an artistic installation on a historic street in the center of Lugano. She lives and works in Lugano.
The Teatro del Pepe is home to the European ecological movement FareAmbiente and is directed by Vincenzo Pepe, president of the association and professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli. The exhibition will feature twenty works by the artist Sofia Neri, intertwining various themes that explore the immaterial, light, nature, and dance.
Sofia Neri is an eclectic and versatile artist, with a keen eye for detail and a unique sensitivity. In her photographs, she promotes the ongoing search for expression and sharing of the soul and self. The artist describes the process of ideation for her works: “Everything is created when my eye, and thus my soul, are open to encountering light.” This encounter gives her works a mystical and philosophical character.
Her time spent in Venice, which she defines as the “City of Light”, has enhanced her observational spirit. This awakening, combined with her artistic performative background in music and dance, endows her photographs with the ability to communicate not only through technique but also, and above all, through the inner self that is free to flow spontaneously: “In my works,” Sofia reveals, “the empirical data is transformed, not by technology, but by my soul and the unique perspective from which it views the world.”
The photographs on display showcase transparencies and luminosity. Refraction characterizes most of the works and is essential for a luminous reverberation to emerge from their surfaces. The elements in the scene become intertwined, producing unexpected apparitions: raindrops create the semblance of a figure, the interplay of light and shadow establishes enigmas, as various presences emerge from the fusion of different hues. The subjects are extracted from reflections and shifts of energy, bodies, and substances.
Sofia Neri starts from tradition and then follows her instinct, seeking ways in which the body and the environment can act as tools for visual communication. Through her shots, she expands into the surrounding world to foster expressiveness and creativity to offer the public. The artist defines photography as the dance of light in time, which inevitably also brings along shadow. Both are necessary to vivify the flow that traverses consciousness and that is expressed in each person’s experience of the world.
With a strong desire to inspire and connect people, Sofia Neri skillfully combines techniques and artistic forms, creating works that promote an enchanting dialogue between art and life.
Leave a Reply