Fanni 2015

Curator: This is "Fanni," a 2015 work by Sofia Bonati. What strikes you first? Editor: Those huge butterfly wings where her ears should be—they make her look part fairy, part math problem! It’s playful, yet there's a subtle sadness about her eyes. Curator: Indeed, the work has an intriguing ambivalence. Structurally, Bonati employs a stark palette—black, white, and a subdued turquoise, punctuated by small, intentional bursts of red. These chromatic choices emphasize the graphic nature of the composition. Semiotically, we could interpret the butterfly wings as symbols of transformation. Editor: Oh, absolutely, the cocoons she’s holding clinch that, don’t they? Dangling like little jade earrings... I can’t help but feel this piece speaks to identity and becoming. The overall design is clean, almost minimalist. Curator: Agreed. The lines of her cloak are incredibly controlled. Note how they draw the viewer's gaze downward to her hands and the suspended chrysalises. There's a powerful tension created by the simplicity of the lines and shapes contrasting the complexity of the symbolic weight. The figure is frontal, planar, creating an immediate dialogue with the viewer. Editor: It feels very intimate, despite its artificial style. The colors create a cool melancholy atmosphere which contrasts sharply with the absurdity of the image! What strikes you the most when you look at this work? Curator: The deliberate flatness, how the figure interacts with the flat, decorative plane of the background. The limited depth, the deliberate foregrounding of line and form; these are calculated choices and they point toward her postmodernist approach. Editor: The piece definitely subverts expectation with an unexpected approach that allows for more than just pure art. I wonder what Sofia would make of our deductions... It makes you ponder. Curator: Indeed, it leaves you questioning more than a few assumptions.