The Front is pleased to present
Diane Sophrin "Chaos and Catharsis: Works on a Continuum"
January 3rd - February 2nd 2025
Diane Sophrin's tall vertical panels are dark and weathered, wooden and warm, patched together with tiny pieces of tape. They invoke or echo her time living and working in central Europe, among the Hungarian and Polish artists who came of age in the post-WWII, socialist era.

The tall dark panels contrast with light and color in other pieces made along her journey: painted collages with bright leaves of paper, enigmatic small boxes, fold-out books and antique books that have been remade as artist's sketchbooks. Some pieces reflect a dialog with József Attila, a 20th century Hungarian poet. The contrast of light and dark suggests movement on the continuum between chaos and catharsis.

Sophrin's materials are simple and reused. Nothing is cut; everything is torn. She has come to favor a backing of paper bags, carefully unfolded, joined and gessoed. The stitched pieces imply the temporal nature of a whole created from many parts. Visually, the figural form stands stark against the light background, a mute testimony to the 21st century. Sophrin's work reflects fragmentation and reassemblage; her use of collage is allegorical. It is an act of remembrance and saving; repairing the world.

The daughter of a graphic artist and a photographer, Sophrin's early art studies in NYC were followed by undergraduate and graduate work in the US and Europe. After an MFA fellowship she lectured, curated, and taught studio art for more than twenty years. She has been awarded multiple grants in painting and writing from the State Arts Councils of Vermont and New York. Her work can be found in many public and private European collections. The autumn of 2023 she returned to Budapest with a residency at the Budapest 9th District Historical Museum and a solo show at the Open Workshop Art Center. She is an active and long-standing member of both the Society of Hungarian Painters and The Front gallery here in Vermont.

The show opens on Friday January 3rd with a reception from 4 to 7 pm. The Front is open Fridays 4-7, weekends 11-5, and by appointment. There will also be an artist's talk in the gallery on Saturday January 18th, 2-4 PM.

The Front is cooperatively owned and managed by its artist-members. We're at 6 Barre Street here in Montpelier, open every week Friday 4-7, Saturday-Sunday 11-5. We're happy to welcome folks off-hours as well; to arrange an appointment when we're not open, email info@thefrontvt.com or call (802) 552-0877. For more information, visit https://www.thefrontvt.com.

Event Info

Feb 1, 2025, 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM

Feb 2, 2025, 3 to 4:30 PM

Feb 5, 2025, 7 to 8 PM