Balancing between fashion, travel and portrait photography, Szóstak’s images are a great affirmation of femininity. The photographer has developed a unique visual language. Szóstak’s aesthetics is rooted in the tradition of great masters of painting and photography. She draws inspiration from the heritage of a classic portrait while remaining fresh and winsomely lyrical. In front of the lens of Sonia Szóstak, women seen by a woman, are treated subjectively, in a manner full of dignity and strength, just like in portraits of Małgosia Bela that were created especially for the exhibition. The human body confronted with nature and embedded in the landscape is the main theme of the Sonia Szóstak’s works. Szóstak precisely chooses her locations. The photographer examines the qualities of the female body in motion grasping them beyond time, capturing it in a very contemporary way. The charming characters of Szóstak’s photographs are models and friends, captured in poetic dance poses. It is a photographic portrait of her generation immersed in dreams about the unreal, elusiveness, and beauty. While each photo seems to tell its own story, Szóstak’s photographic practice frequently approaches magic realism. Photographs, embedded in reality, go beyond its limits and seem unreal. Szóstak’s education and professional experience in photography allow her to move freely between traditions and poetics. Whether carefully arranged or photographed spontaneously, her photographs are immediately recognizable.
Sonia Szóstak – Born in 1990 in Szczecin. She graduated from the Film School in Łódź where she studied Direction of Photography. She lives and works between Paris and Warsaw. Szóstak published in iconic magazines around the world, such as Vogue Poland, Vogue Italia, Vogue Portugal, Vogue Ukraine, Numero, Odda, Rolling Stone. She is also the author of advertising campaigns for such brands as Chylak, Le Petit Trou, YES or Mene. Her photographs were presented at numerous group exhibitions, among them Young Poland by Alexi Lubomirski, A / D / O Gallery (New York, 2017), A Glimpse at Photo Vogue, Carl Sozzani Gallery (Milan, 2013), Corpus Delicti The Ballery ( Berlin, 2018), Uwikłani w sztukę. Fotografia, malarstwo, rzeźba, wideo z kolekcji Joanny i Krzysztofa Madelskich, National Museum (Gdańsk, 2014). Sonia Szóstak’s works have so far been presented at two individual exhibitions: The Age of Innocence at the National Museum in Gdansk, 2016 and a year earlier at the Berlin No Wodka Gallery A Journey to Mars, curated by Nadine Dinter, who works at Helmut Newton Foundation. The exhibition at Leica 6×7 Gallery Warsaw will be the first individual exhibition Szóstak in Warsaw.
Sonia Szóstak „Fortune Teller Told Me”
Opening: 15.02 (Friday), 6 PM
On display: 16.02. – 06.04.2019
Curator: Magdalena Gemra
Artist and curator-led exhibition tour: 16.02.2019 (Saturday), 4 PM
Opening hours: Monday-Saturday 10 AM-8 PM, Working Sundays 12 AM-6PM
Free admission
Leica 6×7 Gallery Warsaw, Mysia 3, 2nd floor
Media patrons: Fotopolis, Doc! Magazine, Art Info, Digital Camera