Sophie Ko: Time, Ash, and the Epiphany of Matter

Sophie Ko (Tbilisi, 1981) creates works using ash from burned images and pure pigments, exploring mutation and instability in relation to time. She studied at academies in Tbilisi and Milan. Her practice involves a dialogue between control and chance, where materials react and transform. Ko describes her role as co-author with time, which becomes the material itself, stratifying in her works. In her Geografie temporali cycle, the first layer is visible on the surface, while subsequent layers emerge over time, reversing traditional painting. She won the Gran premio della Pittura at MAC Lissone in 2016. Recent solo shows include Atti di resistenza (Building, Milan, 2020), Geografie temporali (Ca' Pesaro, Venice, 2019), Sporgersi nella notte (Renata Fabbri arte contemporanea, Milan, 2018; The Open Box, Milan, 2018), Terra. Geografie temporali (Galleria de' Foscherari, Bologna, 2016), Silva Imaginum (Renata Fabbri Arte Contemporanea, Milan, 2015), and Solo Show (AplusB Contemporary Art, Brescia, 2014). Ko sees metamorphosis as the essence of life, rejecting fixed forms. Her work San Martino (2018) used earth and pigment, with earth as living matter that germinates and breathes. The interview was conducted by Davide Dal Sasso.