Sophie Treppendahl: Take Care of Yourself

Philip Martin Gallery is proud to present, "Take Care of Yourself," a solo exhibition of new oil-on-canvas paintings by New Orleans-based artist Sophie Treppendahl. With a keen sense of observation and stillness, Treppendahl’s work creates a narrative on the passage of time. These vivid depictions of simple moments are sourced from the artist’s own life experiences, photographs and drawings.

Treppendahl’s lush use of color, buttery paint strokes and the ever-changing use of light, depict a familiar feeling of timelessness. Influenced by painters Lois Dodd, Alex Katz and Josephine Halvorson, these intimate moments are expertly depicted. Whether stuck inside during quarantine or viewing inspiring waterscapes, Treppendahl’s use of color makes a recognizable moment feel warm and inviting. The never ending feeling of summer freedom, the sun’s warm embrace on bare skin, these feelings of nostalgia, of a life well lived, are apparent.

Treppendahl says, “Through painting, I aim to capture not the likeness to an image but the overwhelming feeling of the space or a memory. In my studio, I work from recorded observations, often photographs and drawings that then serve as a springboard to explore pattern, color, light and shadow. When creating, the representation becomes secondary, my primary focus becoming the painting process itself. As I translate reflection, pattern, and shadows through paint, the image lends itself to abstraction, manipulation and exaggeration. Through this, the painting takes on new life. And instead of creating a hollow representation of a moment that once was, I hope to create something altogether new - a painting imbued with the vibrance of that instance, the glow of how it felt, and the love of translating it through paint.“

Sophie Treppendahl (b. 1991, Baton Rouge, LA) received her BA from College of Charleston (Charleston, SC) in 2013. In 2023, Sophie Treppendahl will have a solo exhibition at Philip Martin Gallery (Los Angeles, CA).  Treppendahl's work was recently included in group exhibitions at Jack Hanley Gallery (New York, NY);  Platform Art (David Zwirner Gallery, NY); and Hashimoto Contemporary (New York, NY). Treppendahl has had recent solo and group exhibitions at  Johansson Projects (Oakland, CA); Quirk Gallery (Richmond, VA); Kenise Barnes Fine Art (Larchmont, NY); 1969 Gallery (New York, NY); Carrie Secrist Gallery (Chicago, IL); Heaven Gallery (Chicago, IL); Philip Martin Gallery (Los Angeles, CA); Indianapolis Art Center (Indianapolis, IN); Ada Gallery (Richmond, VA); Dread Lounge (Los Angeles, CA); The Broad (Richmond, CA); How’s Howard (Boston, MA); The Southern Gallery (Charleston, SC); Gildar Gallery (Denver, CO); and Richard and Dolly Mass Gallery (Purchase, NY). Treppendahl has been awarded residencies with the Golden Foundation (New Berlin, NY); 100 W Corsicana (Corsicana, TX); The provincial (Chief, MI); and The Wassaic Project (Wassais, NY). Her work has been reviewed in publications such as Booooooom, White Hot Magazine of Contemporary Art, Hyperallergic, and Chicago Reader. Treppendahl lives and works in New Orleans, LA.