Sophie DeFrancesca

Black Venus

2020

Toronto-based artist and sculptor Sophie Defrancesca creates lifelike wire mesh sculptures of dresses, gowns and other figurative works that are capable of fooling the eye from a distance. Her finely twined bodices, adorned with Swarovski crystals, fit exhibition spaces as easily as they would a fashion runway.

DeFrancesca was ten years old when her mother passed away, leading to an interest in maternal figures. An immigrant who fled wartime Europe, DeFrancesca’s mother was resilient and fashionable, often captured in photographs wearing beautiful clothing handmade by family members. As a child, DeFrancesca used these pictures to create clothing for her dolls, both as a way of remembering her mother and to engage with her fascination with vintage apparel. DeFrancesca later graduated in 1990 from the Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD) and in the early 2000s, she began using wire mesh as a design material to examine rigidity in fashion and the role of femininity. She shaped the galvanized steel mesh into life-size human forms.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, she has expanded her practice into laser-cut plexiglas to allow for more intricate detailing that furthers the illusion. She has exhibited in group and solo shows across North America, including at the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies in Banff, Alberta; the Sheldon Museum of Art in Lincoln, Nebraska; and at various spaces in Toronto, Montreal, New York and Miami. Her 2022 exhibitions included shows at the Newzones Gallery Of Contemporary Art in Calgary and the Oeno Gallery in Prince Edward County, Ontario.

On 1stDibs, find a collection of Sophie DeFranesca’s sculptures and mixed media.