Bosco Sodi

At the beginning of the XXI century we are facing the XIX Century principle that stated that the perception of the work of art was a connection between equals that collaborated in the creation of something -the work of art- that only existed in the act of perception. The work of Bosco Sodi revels in this act of perception the moment it invites the spectator to dive into it to live it and discover its physical qualities, and above all, extol the esthetic experience that derives from contemplative observation. Like the clouds in the sky, each spectator has a personal connection to the work, it is painting that moves easily and powerfully from the gestural and physical aspects to the monochromatic harmony of abstraction, making each person wonder if it is associated with pure abstraction or with the nature, or if on the contrary, it is an expressionist work linked to its strong emotional character, detonating individual fantasies. The powerful impression tectonic materiality is directly proportional to its nature, in weight as well as in volume, and the landscape and ideology of the ages old Mexican culture echoes in each piece. If the artist constantly and proudly alludes to the origin of the raw materials and how these defined the creative process, he has left this regionalism behind by using materials from the most diverse places in the world, for example, wood and pigments, and this frees each piece from a specific reference. Bosco Sodi does not use paintbrushes to work, he constructs his works directly on the frame on the ground, walking around it, looking at it, listening in an almost shamanic act -according to himself- in connection to the materials and the space. It is an intense work in which he mixes natural fibers, sawdust and wood fragments with specific color, resistance and powdery traits, that have different densities and tonalities. Sometimes the layers are homogeneous and in harmony, like the rhythm of the waves of the sea, other times they form textures full of valleys and crests, and when the materials dry, they react like the earth at the bottom of a dry river, cracking in random places, altering the original composition as well as the original colors. These controlled accidents give unique qualities to Sodi’s work, making shiny glazes appear on the surface that contend the natural sense of the whole piece. This causes an internal tension between the radiance and the porosity caused by the dehydration of the materials. With no theoretical pretensions on his part, the artist frees color from symbolic functions to express himself in the field of visuals, letting the light on the surfaces of his work create a two way effect: firstly inciting the eye of the viewer to look for tonalities and effects hidden from plain view, and awakening sensations and emotions such as peace, joy, anger, and secondly, suggesting that the source of light is within the piece itself, making it have an autonomous existence from which a magnetic and seductive energy flows. Bosco Sodi strives for the monochrome as a means of expression and emotional dialogue with the spectator, which is exactly the opposite of the artistic production of the beginning of the XX century that went after pure abstraction and chromatic synthesis, as is the case of Kasimir Malevich, or the anti-esthetic materialist radicalism of Alexander Rodchenko. Somehow his painting is close to abstract expressionism, due to its expressive strength as well as its absence of narrative intentions, and technical and composition certainties. His paintings, drawings and engravings show how he has waived the search for the safety of academic perfection, and reflect a personal ambition to transcend through communication with the viewer. Without a doubt, the work of Bosco Sodi is an adventure into the unknown, that has gone from aqueous transparency to terrestrial density in a few years, taking the risk of leaving behind what the critics of the moment and collectors are counting on, seeking new forms of expression and not aligning to what is expected of his work but affirming his uniqueness.