Sophie Chau-Banh
Bodies and Landscapes in Dissolution
Information
Based in
Paris, France
Status
Avanvue Selection
Medium
Oil Painting
Overview
Sophie Chau-Banh paints landscapes in oil that are also bodies, or bodies that are also landscapes. The boundary between figure and matter is deliberately blurred: a hip extends into a rocky outcrop, a wave closes in on a back, a head of hair merges with a mineral formation. Nothing is static; everything is in the process of becoming something else.
Her palette moves between deep blues, dark greens, and turquoise sea spray, punctuated by flashes of orange, red, or gold that cut across the canvas like a contained warmth. The gesture is fluid, the material worked in layers and rubbed textures that evoke erosion as much as skin. Having come from fashion, where she worked for years as a stylist, Sophie Chau-Banh has only recently begun painting full time, a practice she describes herself as an existential need rather than a choice, rediscovered after years of restraint.
My view
Presented by Avanvue, July 2026.
In Sophie Chau-Banh’s work, almost nothing is distinct: water, rock, and the body merge into a single substance without fixed boundaries. The body is never shown; it is dissolved into the landscape, yet always discernible in the texture of the material. The titles, Mélancolie, Mute, Shelter, La mère, evoke states of mind rather than scenes, rendered in a palette of deep blues interspersed with red and orange. She has only recently taken up painting, and this is evident in the restrained urgency of her brushwork.
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Every two weeks, I write a letter about the art I’m actually looking at—not necessarily the art we’re told to love. Just a slower, more personal, and freer way of looking at contemporary art. Three installments. The Selection: I feature an artist. Everyday Uncommon: my perspective, the exhibitions I see, and what I find in them. Behind the Scenes: I talk about Avanvue, its projects, its choices, and its philosophy.