Bosco Sodi, as an artist, takes on the mission of reincarnating traditions and deems himself the ambassador of dichotomies through his works. From his use of materials to the way he articulates meaning via those materials he conveys an array of messages to his audience.
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Sodi, born in 1970 is an Italian artist who concentrates on both paintings and sculptures. The distinctive aspect of his artworks is the textures and their large-scale materializations. His main inspiration comes from the traditions of different cultures, such as Mexican ancestral practices, and a variety of artistic expressions which include the Japanese tradition of wabi-sabi, Japanese movements Gutay and Mono-ha, or the arte povera movement in Italy.
The traditional use of materials and color extracting methods, especially borrowed from the Mexican culture, can be seen in Sodi’s use of clay as an ancestral technique and the use of natural pigments, such as the red dye from cochineals. However, in the hands of the artist, the derived forms bring out timeless symbols, such as, although not limited to, infinity, the earth, or the cosmos. The embodiment of these symbols in Sodi’s works brings the spectator back to the so-called dichotomies. The balance of the conceptual and the formal, the local and the universal, the spiritual and the earthly, and the concrete and the abstract.
With the ways, Bosco Sodi transforms clay he opens up spaces for traditions to be connected with the contemporary viewer while his works become bridges. Just as in his work which can be seen above, the out of the ordinary shaping of clay in a large format follows the intentional repurposing of the material. Unlike its traditional use the purpose here the aim of the creator isn’t transforming the clay into a functional object. However, the resulting piece becomes a unique legacy that bears the delicate contribution of nature to human life. Sodi’s sculptures are created in his studio in Oaxaca, Mexico, and left to be dried in the open air. Throughout the process, the artist and his art embody the cultural legacy of Mexico and the undeniable effect of nature in it.
Bosco Sodi, in the span of his career up to the current day, has had his works exhibited in many solo or group exhibitions nationally and internationally. Wherever his works go, they carry with them the deep meaning and value of universality and ancestral roots. The unexpected combination of polar opposites manifests itself in the hands of Sodi.
Cover image: Bosco Sodi, Untitled, 2019, Courtesy of Galería Hilario Galguera
Written by Naz Akgun
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