‘Enemies to Lovers but Me to Myself’

Miłość is excited to present Sophie Vallance Cantor’s firstsolo exhibition with the gallery, ‘Enemies to Lovers, butMe to Myself’ opening on the 5th of February. In the show,Sophie’s oil paintings take on a new form of room dividers,illustrating experiences of autism and burnout – of recoveryand grounding, of hiding and not wanting to be seen, oflashing out in pain, of boundaries and safety.In their small London home studio, the paintings Sophieand her partner and fellow painter Douglas Cantor makeoften feel stacked on top of each other – the room dividerstranslate that feeling, becoming a sort of spatial collages.They conceal and protect, they form a boundary whichechoes the artist’s experience of autism, which can oftenfeel like looking in from the outside. Sophie’s paintings offera refuge to exist in, and now a literal hiding place.Sophie’s work has seen a change of pace in the recentyears; from riding off into the sunsets, being on the lam andsearching for another place of winning, she turns to morestatic compositions, to tender pensive portraits surroundedby softness, from nighttime to daytime depictions. Thepractice becomes one of solace rather than escapism.The tigers and leopards become portrayals of paralysingmeltdowns, of snapping in anger. The painting of fur andleopard spots, as well as lace – inspired by doilies from theirhome and lace pieces by Dagobert Peche – mirrors thelaborious process of healing and grieving.In ‘Sick Woman Theory’, Johanna Hedva talks about thebinary between the private and the public and how itpositions within what we consider political. They say, ‘Whenyou have a chronic illness, life is reduced to a relentlessrationing of energy. …

How do you throw a brick through thewindow of a bank if you can’t get out of bed?’. ‘Enemies toLovers, but Me to Myself’ is an act of protest, an act of selfcare and care for another, a diary of labour put into healing,of its hardships and wins.

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ARTIST STATEMENT & BIO

I make paintings as a direct antidote to my everyday lifeas someone with autism. They open up a refuge to exist in,where the line between reality and imagination is blurredand there is breathing space to be authentic. Domestic catstransform into tigers and leopards, and close relationshipsbecome characters navigating themes and narrativeslike immigration and isolation. It’s not an idealistic placewithout problems, but the colours are brighter, the tearssaltier and the embraces tighter.Dynamic and confident drawings serve as the structureto underpin each painting, and create a space to engagewith play through the painting process. Texture sitsunder smoothly blended surfaces, creamy brushstrokesmeet buffed neon cheeks, and traditional rules are notfollowed. Amidst the narrative of the paintings, a sense ofstillness prevails. Each small moment is immortalised andtransfigured through the trace of the painting process.A childhood fascination with American films from the1980s and 1990s is very present in the atmosphere ofthe paintings, neon signs glow, cocktails are sipped andcigarettes smoked. There is a yearning to be enveloped bythe setting of the paintings, to finally belong somewhere.With each painting reading like a still from a film it is up tothe viewer to create their own narrative from the respectivemoments captured. They are however kept at arm’s length,treated like outsiders – voyeurs – looking in on a privatemoment, a personal nod to my experiences of isolationnavigating the world with autism.Ultimately, the act of making paintings serves a purposefor me. I am looking for myself in my work and answers tolikely unanswerable questions about what it is to be alive,belonging, fear, loneliness and love.Sophie Vallance Cantor is a Scottish artist based in London.She has exhibited internationally in group and solo showsincluding at Mrs Gallery (New York), T293 (Rome), EnariGallery (Amsterdam), La Bibi + Reus (Spain), NBB (Berlin),and Sotheby’s (New York) among others.