In Sofia Laskari’s work, the complexities of being human are impressed through meticulously painted flesh, pinpointing a truthfulness that will feel familiar. You have traversed the same emotional landscape, but perhaps never seen it represented with such intensity and candid clarity. Laskari’s collection Body and Flesh is an exacting display of internal complexities made visible on the female body through oil on canvas. The artist’s debut solo exhibit was on show at Saatchi Gallery in London from 16th March through 12th May, garnering praise and commendation.
The London-based artist is an emerging talent, known for her evocative and introspective works, often self portraits, that explore her own vulnerabilities and perceptions of self. Laskari's art is characterised by its raw emotional depth and honest representations of the human figure. Her work challenges audiences to engage with commonly felt but often buried threads of feeling and experience, making her work both relatable and thought-provoking. Laskari's keen eye for detail and her ability to convey so much through the human figure mean that her artistic approach is beginning to hook the attention of the contemporary art world.
You told Nicola Macey in an interview that you work on your art nearly every day. Have you painted today?
At the moment my schedule is very wild, and it has become very hard to consistently paint every single day. I work in a café shop to more or less maintain my bills, alongside that I have to complete my art commissions, create my personal works, be an art agent for myself, exercise, and all that to be a happy, social person. My energy has started to drain way faster than before, so when I work on a painting, I don’t stop until it's complete, technically every day. And then I rest after the completion of it for a couple of days, as I give too much energy to my artwork. Some days I can sit 15 hours straight with only food breaks and after I feel emotionally drained. This is a resting week, so no painting until I’m fully recharged.
Congratulations on your exhibit at the Saatchi Gallery. Have there been any big takeaways from that experience?
Having a solo show at the Saatchi was a first big step in my professional art career and just the title of it is already a big takeaway. It all of a sudden adds value to my work, because it’s been recognised by art professionals in such a well-known gallery. During the show I met a lot of people, both customers and just general visitors from various countries and backgrounds, that were able to connect to my work and feel part of themselves in my paintings. Honestly, that’s the best part of the whole experience! But as well as a young, unexperienced artist [can], I was able to dive into the business aspect of the art world and understand that not all of the professional people that reach out to you will have honest and pure intentions to cover your interest as well as theirs.
A common adage is that as an artist, you should “draw what you see.” The way you paint flesh in many different hues feels reminiscent of this — real skin never appears monochromatic, as it’s seen under different lighting, reflecting colours around it, and shaded by the fabric of our clothes. You’ve written, “Oh, how I love, making the skin so full of colours.” How do you decide on or visualise which hues you’ll use for a particular body?
Interestingly enough, every painting in the series is a representation of my inner self in the form of a self-portrait. The figures are not necessarily close to my physical self, but the energy and the feeling is mine. So, I was adapting skin hues to my expression of myself. I guess my decisions through the painting of the skin come very intuitively and are driven mostly by the reflections of shades and backgrounds as well as the feel of a certain part of the body. Let’s say, I hurt my elbow, so the figure that I am painting will have a dark blue-ish green spot on their arm.
Funny that the show at the Saatchi was the first time I was able to see my works all together. And I have spotted this interesting tendency, that when I started the series, I was emotionally in a very bad space painting during autumn and winter time. The first colours on the works and the skin on the figures turned out to be way colder, including more grey, blue, white tones. But moving towards spring and summer, personally feeling way better, my paintings started to have this very warm sense, full of bright red and orange, yellow. So I assume my hues unintentionally vary depending on my mood, state of mind, and the season. It applies the same to when I paint other people, the hues on their body and skin reflect my feeling of their character and mood.
Funny that the show at the Saatchi was the first time I was able to see my works all together. And I have spotted this interesting tendency, that when I started the series, I was emotionally in a very bad space painting during autumn and winter time. The first colours on the works and the skin on the figures turned out to be way colder, including more grey, blue, white tones. But moving towards spring and summer, personally feeling way better, my paintings started to have this very warm sense, full of bright red and orange, yellow. So I assume my hues unintentionally vary depending on my mood, state of mind, and the season. It applies the same to when I paint other people, the hues on their body and skin reflect my feeling of their character and mood.
Many have called your work honest, vulnerable, and raw. Is there another way you’d describe your paintings?
In addition to this description, I would say that my work holds a topic and imagery that doesn’t fit into everyone’s understanding. It is somewhat hard to process. There are artworks that are bright, funny, cheerful, stereotypically beautiful. Those get way more views just because they’re easier to process and visually understand. I assume that seeing nude figures while entering the gallery space, might turn some visitors around. Even the sign “nudity, trigger warning,” feels like it’s something forbidden.
Have you ever wished you could redo a painting after it’s already been displayed?
I am very lucky, because I have an amazing rule for myself. When I finish a painting and even if I don't like it, I roll it up, put it next to the wall, and move on. It’s very strict with me that the result is the best it could ever be. Even if it’s bad in your opinion. So, I stick with this rule, especially after the work is officially locked up by the view of visitors, no chance of going back.
Your figures are detailed and colourful, but for many of them, the space where hair or eyebrows, or both, would be is left blank. What does this technique represent to you?
When I was a bit younger, exploring my artist style, I was struggling to move outside the box. [To] let myself go and experiment. I was too scared that my painting would not be classically perfect. But I always appreciated an unfinished feeling in a painting. When I was working on my first artwork of the whole Body and Flesh series, I decided to leave hair and eyebrows to the very end. But when I finished everything, I absolutely loved the empty space that was there instead of the hair. So, I left it how it is. Painting after painting, I have realised that it grabbed attention. People were guessing why it’s this way. And it's stuck to the series, like a cherry on top of the cake. To me, it’s a reminder that these complex paintings came from scratch. All I had was an idea, a white surface, and paints.
Your style is quite distinct and recognisable. How much has your art style changed from when you began painting? Did you always have a clear idea of the aesthetic direction you were headed in?
I [feel I am] am a self-taught artist, so almost every day of my artistic life that started when I was around 14, I was trying to explore various techniques and ways of expression. What was in 2022 most of the year is almost day and night to what I am doing in 2023-24. It was a drastic change, and that change came because every day I made myself get up and paint, to get that signature style. By complete chance I felt that personal style with my first Body and Flesh work. And ever since, I’ve decided to paint in that particular way and direction. Before that, I was exploring works of my favourite artists, wondering how they developed their style. I knew I loved their way of expression, but I didn’t want to paint in the exact same way. But what was my way only came after a lot of hard, consistent work, almost by accident. And then locked up by repetition and adjustment.
University of the Arts London is where you studied fine art, graduating in 2023. How important was art school in your artistic development?
As sad as its sounds, it has nothing to do with my artistic practice. That's why I try to avoid mentioning this institution anywhere on my page. What the experience gave me is suffering and disappointment, and this, yes, might have impacted my artworks that are so emotional and hard to receive. I am waiting for the right time, when I have a bit more power and weight in society, to break their label of being one of the best art schools, to not let young artists with bright minds be left unsupported and, as a result, in debt. Because I can imagine how many great potential painters came to this institution in hope of professional guidance, but were let down by incompetent and ignorant tutors, resulting in dropping out of the artistic field.
Painting on unstretched canvas is a less common practice — what draws you to this method?
On one hand, I work in my flat that has very limited space. So, both storing and painting on unstretched canvas is way easier than stretched canvas. It is very convenient for bulk purchases, as I can use one roll for half a year and use it for both large and medium paintings. On the other hand, in my paintings I focus on skin and flesh, and unstretched canvas has an almost skin-like quality to it. Displaying it in such a free form, connects people more to the painting. Almost leaving no gap between them and encouraging viewers to have a direct visual conversation. Technically speaking, it doesn’t have any drastic impact on my final outcome, but it has an impact on how it is presented and seen.
Do you have any media or techniques you hope to incorporate into your work in the future?
I think for me at this stage of my artistic practice, media and techniques falls onto the secondary interest. I would be more interested in the content of my paintings. What am I showing to people and what messages I am delivering to them? Other than that, I have been trying to add more oil pastels to my work, maybe you will see more of them!
Saatchi Gallery was a great location for your first solo exhibit, and your art was well received. What’s the most memorable or meaningful thing you heard from someone who saw the exhibit?
I have received so many comments and just general thank you notes for speaking out (about certain hard topics and emotions). From medical students, yoga teachers, finance managers and so on. All the feedback was very honest and very sentimental for me. As all I wanted is to speak to people through my experience and help them connect, talk out, and feel that they are not alone in their situation. But out of all of them there was one specific email that I received right after my show was moved to another gallery space. It was a father of a daughter, who expressed his emotions during the show. He mentioned that he teared up seeing my exhibition, as my works reminded him of his daughter that struggles with self-harm. She also has a ginger tabby cat that means the world to her. This comment left me very emotional, understanding how art can connect people and energetically fill visitors up with such experiences.
