Sophie Tottie: White Lines

The works of Sophie Tottie (b. Stockholm, 1964; lives and works in Berlin) depart from mark making and performative viewing. The book presents recent paintings and drawings on steel, copper, acrylic glass, canvas, and paper. Linear or circular marks alternately block the reflection or move the light in an almost kinetic way as the spectator approaches the works or steps away from them. Similarly to the drawings from Tottie’s series Written Language (line drawings), which were recently shown at the MoMA, New York, these new works often follow a strict making process of repetitive mark making. Instead of being identical copies, however, they prove to be individual and clearly differentiated. In a wideranging conversation with Hal Foster, the artistdiscusses mark making, performative viewing, and other fundamental questions of abstraction. With an essay by Goeran Christenson.