Sophy Naess

I retrieved the loom from Phillipsport, NY with the help of my father. It became a psychic presence in my room, commanding me to think about structure, design, purity, and hard work. It was a salvation.

My mother spent the night. I realized how sexualized my place had become. I hid the coconut oil. I hoped there were no condom wrappers floating around in bed.

I wanted to work harder and I couldn’t afford the distraction of all these men coming over to fuck at all times of day. I cancelled all my dates except for Samir. We made a plan to paint with oil and I set about preparing canvases.

-Rachel would help me dress the loom

-Sarah would teach me how to use weave drafts

-Samir would be my model

-Emma would show me how to use my new shuttles

-I would use canvas for my cartoons and stretch these paintings

-I would continue writing my weavers discourse, my self being the warp into which so many experiences were woven.

Labor of Love, Sophy Naess's first solo show in New York, presents a large-scale tapestry depicting a luscious romp. Trained as an oil painter, Naess took up weaving following the generous bequest of a four harness floor loom from the family of Hayley Silverman. The exhibition is accompanied by three new chapters from Naess's ongoing project, A Weaver's Discourse, designed by Adam O'Reilly, and an edition of lapel pins designed in collaboration with Raque Ford.

Sophy Naess (1982) lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. She first exhibited paintings in New York at ABC No Rio in 1999. Recent exhibitions include the Foundation for Contemporary Arts' Artists for Artists anniversary exhibition at Matthew Marks Gallery; The Shandaken Project Retrospective; Chapter; US Blues; and the Spring Break Art Fair. A selection of her illustrations will be included in the upcoming FAMILY issue of Girls Like Us Magazine in May.

Naess currently teaches Painting at Cooper Union and Art as Communication at Saint Joseph's College. She is SU CASA artist-in-residence at the Bay Ridge Senior Center.