Curator's Choice: Dancers #1 and #2 by Sofie Swann

This month's Curator's Choice is, for the first time, our Curator's Choices. These paintings, titled Dancers #1 and #2 measure 12" x 12" and are made on paper, each with a mat and off-white frame. The pair are not only new to Sorelle's collection of artwork by Connecticut-based artist Sofie Swann, but they have also been hand-selected by our Art Advisors as part of our 2021 Gift Collection. Read on to learn more about why we love these paintings - not just for how the artist has rendered them, but for the message she sends, too. 

What It's About

The angular, organic moving shapes of The Dancers series are inspired by the swaying trees that surround the artist's home. "I often think about how they're all the same, but each with their own distinct qualities," Swann says. "Broadly, I think that's mirrored by humanity. We're all connected and not so different from one another - just tweaked slightly."

Where It Works

Made with acrylic paint and Persian tea on paper, Dancers #1 and #2 have a warm neutral palette with a highly abstract style. Because there's two of them, you can get creative with how you place them - stacked horizontally or side-by-side, or staggered on a gallery wall. They're also moderately sized at 23.25" x 23.25" framed. They're a bold addition to an entry way, can create visual appeal in a neutral bedroom, or add a dramatic touch to a kitchen. 

Why We Love It

If you've ever seen The Great British Baking Show, you know - substance over style! Luckily, in the Dancers series there's no need to choose. This pair combines a refined design with thoughtful symbolism, and the end result is simply... lovely. We love the artist's unique interpretation of familiar concepts like connection and individuality. The Dancers may be trees, but Swann challenges the viewer to see themselves not only in the artwork, but in the "other" as well.

Sofie Swann is an American artist, born and raised in Tehran, Iran. Displaced at a young age due to political upheaval, her abstract paintings reflect a chaotic yet structured world mirroring inner feelings of dislocation and disconnect in her journey to find a place called home.

Her sources of inspiration are memory and the subconscious, drawn from her childhood all the way to her adult life experiences living for many years in Boston, Massachusetts, then Paris, France before finally settling in Connecticut. 

Swann graduated from Smith College, holds a law degree, and studied art at The School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts.

To learn more about Sofie, check out our Inside the Studio talk with her!

To learn more about our November Curator's Choice, shop Dancers #1 and Dancers #2. You can also shop the entire collection of artwork by Sofie, which includes paintings, and open and limited edition prints of varying sizes.