Behind the Scenes of the Saatchi: An Exclusive Interview with Sofia Laskari
Sofia Laskari’s paintings certainly pack a punch.
I was struck by the fleshy paintings adorning the walls of the Saatchi Gallery when I visited 'Body and Flesh' earlier this month. It’s hard to believe that this is Laskari’s first ever solo show, fresh out of art school. When asked about this in our interview, she seemed to share my disbelief.
NM: How did you feel when you found out you had won a solo show at the Saatchi Gallery?
SL: I am an “over-worker”, I work a lot and barely feel like it’s enough. I feel like I can do better and work harder. So when I get an exciting opportunity, first of all, I focus on making it happen and then try to feel something. I was over the moon when I received the offer for a first solo from the Saatchi, but I had to hold my breath to make it happen. I’m getting way more emotions from people who text me thanking me for speaking out about my art. That’s the best feeling.
NM: Where do you see your career going from here?
SL: I paint pretty much every day and try to create as much as possible. My goal as an emerging artist is to reach out to various galleries, curators, and open calls as much as possible. At the moment I am just enjoying the show at Saatchi, and continue working hard!
NM: Do you consider yourself to be a feminist painter?
SL: I am not an eager feminist. Never considered myself as one. When I started painting the series “Body and Flesh” I started receiving these comments, as to how a woman should be painted. Especially from the male part of the society. “Don’t paint like this”, “Women should be erotic in the paintings”. That’s when I thought that there was still room to fight for women's representation in art and society. Especially female nudity. As a woman, I want to paint how a woman feels. I don’t want to paint what I am expected to paint.
NM: Your work features unashamed female nakedness. Do you think this is an important message?
SL: I wanted to paint nude bodies, to explore hues that can compose flesh. Taking myself for inspiration I turned it into something honest and vulnerable in my view. It has met a lot of negative commentary. There was no understanding or support for what I was doing. In the middle of creation, these paintings became something more than just experimenting with flesh. It became powerful to me, as I wanted to fight through it. I wanted to stick to something that talked to me. And it started to talk to people. It’s not for everyone to understand. It was 2023 and I was thinking that female nudity is accepted and is ready to be reconsidered. But it’s not.
NM: What is the significance of your paintings being self-portraits?
SL: I am painting very emotional figures, and the only closest figure that I know the best is myself. Thereby I used my likeliness to represent my inner identity. This is me, this is my experience. And I want it to be as honest and brutal as I see and experience it.
NM: Do you think that being a woman has been an obstacle for you in the art world?
SL: These days it’s way easier to be accepted as a woman artist. It wasn’t an obstacle for me as I have quite a strong character. My obstacles were things like family, nationality and politics.
NM: Who are your inspirations?
SL: My biggest inspirations are Jenny Saville, Lucien Freud and Frida Kahlo. And life of course.
I am in awe of Laskari’s fearlessness in in the face of vulnerability; the walls of the prestigious Saatchi Gallery are covered with deeply personal paintings of her naked body. The rawness and intimacy of the work does the talking. There are no bows or ribbons, but the paintings have pencil lines and raw edges. Many of the works are painted on unstretched canvas, simply nailed into the wall. It is left to the paint to tell the entire story, which it does; wonderfully. Her sensitive handling of the paint in enviable, with the flesh formed of exquisite colours and tones, combined with striking patterns in some pieces.
That said, the power of the paintings more than made up for any imperfections in the room. I was smitten with all of the paintings, but here are a couple that caught my eye.
The emotion screams off the canvas in ‘STATE 2, 2023’. Its intensity is exacerbated by the empty white background and raw canvas edges. I found the painting reminiscent of Francis Bacon’s 1944 painting ‘Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion’. Laskari’s shrieking, contorted face was an unusual and refreshing departure from how naked women are usually shown in art; feminine, idealised, passive.
‘US, 2023’ felt controversial. Upon further thought, I don’t know why. I suppose we are so used to a naked female body being sexual, that a naked body holding a cat could feel odd. I soon remembered that there is nothing erotic about the body in the painting. Her nakedness acts to enhance the intimacy of the image, which is exactly what she’s trying to convey; the strength and closeness of her bond with her cat. Her nakedness makes the image one of intense vulnerability. This painting really prompted some introspection about the lens through which we view the female nude.
Despite not labelling herself as a feminist, Laskari’s paintings speak powerfully about the experience of being a woman. As a painter myself, I think this theme is a crucial one for us to unpack and explore. I saw myself in her work. It takes courage to make such personal and honest art, especially as a young woman. In our interview Laskari admitted to having ‘quite a strong character.’ Ever modest, this is definitely the understatement of the year. I can’t wait to see what she does next.
© Nik Macey 2024
All images taken by Author