Sophia Narret: Carried by Wonder

 Sophia Narret: Carried by Wonder

As one walks into Sophia Narret’s showcase at the Perrotin, they are greeted with largely black space with detailed pops of color scattered about the walls. Carried by Wonder consists of a collection of meticulously embroidered narratives that utilize thread on organically unraveled canvases to depict an exploration of “the liberties and restrictions of modern womanhood. The artworks themselves are technically impressive as each stitch flows organically into the other and the transitions from one vibrant color to another are smooth. 

However, the overall presentation leaves much to be desired. The generally 20” x 20” organic canvas shapes are too large of a space as about three-fourths of the gallery walls are left bare. This emptiness does a disservice to the extraordinary pieces themselves as the room does not guide the viewer to look at the details of each work. Within each piece, a narrative describing a different woman’s story is unveiled through tiny details and requires a meticulous eye to discover a naked body amongst a crowd of clothed people, for example. Perhaps sharing the space with a compatible artist would have benefitted Carried by Wonder by compacting the space. This could foster an organic layout more interesting than its original evenly distributed art piece per four feet along the wall. Likewise, a close-knit but organized layout could entice viewers to slow down and further take in the details of each piece both in narrative and technical construction.