Sophie DeFrancesca

Works
Overview
  • Sophie DeFrancesca, Atomic Pink, 2025 Atomic Pink, 2025
  • Sophie DeFrancesca, Blue Aphrodite, 2024 Blue Aphrodite, 2024
  • Sophie DeFrancesca, Forest Swag, 2024 Forest Swag, 2024
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"As a young child, DeFrancesca remembers being captivated by her as well as the other maternal figures in her life, considering them goddesses fit for worship."

Toronto artist Sophie DeFrancesca has always been fascinated by vintage fashion. Pictures of her mother wearing gorgeous frocks from the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s served as a connection to her after her passing in the artist’s early childhood. Most of her mother’s clothes were handmade by extended family members out of necessity, not bought. As a new immigrant escaping the horrors of war in Europe, her resilient mother embraced North American culture, and the optimism that came with it. As a young child, DeFrancesca remembers being captivated by her as well as the other maternal figures in her life, considering them goddesses fit for worship.

 

DeFrancesca’s new works are interpretations of the gowns and dresses of some of the most influential designers of the twentieth century including Dior, Chanel and Cassini. The iconic women who wore their brilliant creations were the artist’s mother’s inspiration, and they’ve continued to inspire generations of women to this day. The artist’s new works are therefore an homage to the designers who enabled a woman’s inner beauty and grace to be reflected on the outside.

Download Artist's CV (PDF, opens in a new tab.)
Biography
  • Sophie DeFrancesca, Atomic Pink, 2025 Atomic Pink, 2025
  • Sophie DeFrancesca, Blue Aphrodite, 2024 Blue Aphrodite, 2024
  • Sophie DeFrancesca, Forest Swag, 2024 Forest Swag, 2024
View works

Sophie DeFrancesca was born in Toronto, and graduated from the Ontario College of Art (now OCAD University) in 1990. In the early 2000's, wire mesh emerged as an important material for DeFrancesca.  Sheathes of galvanized steel mesh allowed her to hand-shape human scale forms. Working figuratively, DeFrancesca rendered hard materials into ethereal concoctions. Her workspace in Leslieville offers the artist refuge to explore cultural and social phenomenon in all its evocations. Her sculptures have earned her gallery representation, and group and solo exhibitions at prestigious venues including Toronto,  Montreal, New York, Los Angeles and Miami, and have captured the attention of collectors around the world.

 

By probing the conventional understandings of gender and sexuality, she explores the tension between women’s lived experience, the cultural meaning that informs this experience, and the human condition in general. Transforming sheathes of wire mesh into ethereal confections that transcend the hard, commonplace materials they are made from, her work reflects life’s adversities and transformations. She encourages viewers to look beyond the surface qualities of the work, to the deeper meanings hidden within it.

Download Artist's CV (PDF, opens in a new tab.)
Art Fairs