Sophia vesna’s first exhibition “echos graphite”

Opening Night at Maison Picturale — By the evening of May 24, 2024, the normally quiet Passage Dagorno in Paris was humming with excitement. An easel outside Maison Picturale displayed a whimsical poster for Échos Graphite, and nearly two hundred guests had gathered, spilling inside the gallery and onto the sidewalk. Friends, neighbors and art lovers chatted under the spring sky, glasses in hand, as soft music played. The mood was joyful and warm – as if the whole street were celebrating Vesna’s debut. A wandering neighbour to buy one of the work to make the evening even more of a success. 

From May 24 to 31, 2024, Maison Picturale (Paris 20e) hosted Échos Graphite, the first solo exhibition by Belarusian artist Sophia Vesna. The show presented a series of graphite pencil drawings created in dialogue with the poetry book Fabuleuses Démangeaisons by Gabriel Chirouze.

The artworks on view explored themes of childhood, melancholy, and surreal tenderness. Executed entirely in graphite — a medium the artist describes as “natural and familiar from early age”. Several of the pieces include references to early animation, in particular classic Disney films.

The exhibition marked the beginning of Sophia Vesna’s journey as a visual artist, and laid the foundations for her upcoming projects in France and beyond.