Sophie DeFrancesca

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.