Mara 2017

Sofia Bonati made this drawing, Mara, using ink, at some point in the 20th Century. It's all about lines, right? I mean, you’ve got the background swirling around like some kind of optical illusion. Then there's the maze on her head! It’s like her thoughts are a puzzle. The dress is pretty striking too, with these curved lines that seem to mimic the background, so you see how everything echoes everything else. The ink work is so precise, it gives the piece a real graphic punch, but there’s also a softness in the rendering of her face. Her face is so smooth, so serene. The way the grey mouse sits on her shoulder adds a strange and dreamlike element. All in all, Bonati’s art reminds me a bit of Escher, with that same love for geometric patterns and mind-bending perspectives, but she brings her own quirky, surreal twist.