"THE TITLE OF THE EXHIBITION, “COSMIC WAVES,” REFERS TO THE FABRIC PATTERNS THAT STAND IN FOR SKY, WATER, OR LAND IN EACH WORK. THE STRIPES OR PLAIDS THAT YOU SEE ARE NOT PAINTED- THEY ARE WOVEN INTO THE MATERIAL THAT IS USED IN PLACE OF TRADITIONAL CANVAS.
AS I WORKED ON THIS SERIES, THE PATTERNS CONJURED FOR ME THE IDEA OF THE COSMIC MICROWAVE BACKGROUND, THE LEFTOVER ENERGY FROM THE BIG BANG THAT STILL PERMEATES THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE. THESE ENERGY WAVES ARE ALL AROUND US AT ALL TIMES, ENVELOPING US AND MOVING THROUGH US WITHOUT US THINKING ABOUT THEM MUCH. I FIND IT COMFORTING TO KNOW THAT WE ARE HELD BY THE FABRIC OF THE UNIVERSE IN THIS WAY; LIKE WE ARE ALL WOVEN TOGETHER AND INTERCONNECTED.
I FIND THIS IDEA AWE-INSPIRING, AND I HOPE YOU DO TOO. IT REMINDS ME THAT WE ARE ALL VERY SMALL IN THE VASTNESS OF THE UNIVERSE, BUT WE ARE LUCKY TO HAVE THE BEAUTY OF NATURE AND OUR LOVED ONES, SO LET'S TAKE GOOD CARE OF OUR PLANET AND EACH OTHER."
- SONIA REDFERN
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ABOUT THE ARTIST
Sonia Redfern is a New York City-based painter exploring landscapes with astronomical elements painted on reclaimed fabrics. Born and raised in Brooklyn, Redfern moved to Arizona to pursue an undergraduate degree in astrophysics, though her concentration eventually pivoted to visual arts. While she remained enamored with astronomy and considered a career in the field, she found a deeper sense of fulfillment in her visual arts practice. Redfern continues to bring her curiosity about the world from science into her artwork.
Upon graduating with a BA in Studio Art from the University of Arizona in 2007, Redfern relocated to South Korea and later to Australia. During this time, Redfern had her first solo exhibition featuring a collection of paintings inspired by her experience living abroad. Her years away from home influenced her visual vocabulary, and helped to inspire the fabric works that she creates today.
After receiving an MA in Art Education from Brooklyn College in 2020, Redfern rededicated herself to her studio practice. She has exhibited nationally and internationally, including in New York City, Washington DC, and South Korea. Her work is in numerous private collections throughout the United States, including New York City, Philadelphia, and Portland, as well as in South Korea and the Middle East.
My paintings invite the viewer into the humbling and transcendental experience of being fully immersed in a context larger than oneself, whether cultural, environmental, or universal. To do this I create landscapes, sometimes with astronomical elements, over the patterns and textures of reclaimed fabrics.
The fabric for these paintings was first passed on to me by my mother, a lifelong sewer. She grew up in post-WWII Europe, where everything was recycled, reused, or repurposed, and nothing went to waste. That mindset was passed down. Rather than paint over the entirety of the fabric to hide the colors or patterns, I let the fabric stand in for a piece of the painting and help tell the story. The fabric has a story as well, and often reminds me of a certain place or mood that I match with the painted subject matter of a place or experience I’d like to retell.
Each pattern or texture has a kind of visual vibration, like the background radiation that permeates the universe itself. We don’t think about it often, but it is always there. The pattern is simultaneously busy, keeping the viewer’s attention, and easy to ignore because the eye intuits that it is all the same. It is also intended to impose a surreal quality, which is often how a memory of a place or experience feels. In my paintings I seek to recreate moments of awe and tranquility with the hope of sharing a sense of wonder with others.
