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Born
1975 in Denmark. Studying at The Royal Academy of Fine Art, Copenhagen.
Graduated studies summer 2007. Tel: (+45) 29912081 Email: info@sophiedupont.com Sophie Dupont Let it be clearly stated from the beginning: Sophie Dupont´s paintings are full of ambiguity. They seem to present tableaus from the life of the bourgeoisie, a remote world that we only become acquainted with when we visit the theatre to see a play by Ibsen or Strindberg. Venetian mirrors, chandeliers dripping crystals and the collection of knicknacks seem rooted in nostalgic historicity. Amidst these stage props, actors appear intent on destroying this stolid way of life. In a decadent fashion they sprawl on richly upholstered chairs. It looks as if Helmer has resigned all form of respectability after Nora´s exit, and decided to live his life as bohemian in a dressing gown or a satyr in furry trousers. Very often, there is a young girl who seems to be watching both the viewer and the other actors in the painting. Dupont´s figures seems to be consistently non-communicative. They stare in a vacant, blasé fashion at the beholder from narrow cracks, or hide their eyes behind sunglasses. Nose and mouth have disappeared and the viewer feels confronted by a mask that reveals nothing about the individual. In this universe of silent human actors, stage requisites take on a life of their own; a climbing pot plant on a piedestal trails its leaves around the stalk like imprisoning tentacles. A statuette of a ballerina forcefully draws attention to herself in the margin. Between the stage props and actors a line of heads drift. The sight of this is both demonic and weirdly comical – a collection of trophies exhibited as family portraits. Dupont´s paintings are characterized by a surface-like frontality where one meets the gaze of the actor through an invisible wall. The controlled perspective seems both to be dissolved and enhanced through the paintings´ constant lack of space. The artist has reduced wall and floor to a semi-transparent surface that exists both as foreground and background. Rather than offering actual openings, the doors, mirrors and windows appear heavy and impenetrable. The surroundings have a theatrical aura which emphasises Dupont´s intention of organising her painting as scenes in a theatre. The actors are players in a plot that seems unknown, but where the individual elements attribute their justification to the logic of the theatre and the coquette narrative. Claus Robenhagen. |