Statement

A desire to complete a work of art can intimidate the very initiative. Yet such a work can beautifully and endlessly express an artist’s passion for process, story, discovery and possibility. Such passion is at the centre of Andrea Soos’ practice.

Each element of Soos’ abstractions shows a process balancing spontaneity with deliberate intent. The blithe motion of her pencil lines are too idiosyncratic to have pre-planning behind them, yet they show no sign of hesitation; they are firm in pressure and consistent in flow. The colour markings she interweaves with them are balanced and keenly placed, yet unexpected. Soos seems to be at play in the open space that meditative presence offers. There is depth in her movement, underlying levity and risk. One gesture seems unexpected across the previous one. A line’s dancerly cursive offsets its rough density; a patch of sunlit colour bleeds raw across the paper, only to be criss-crossed with focussed, patterned markings. Soos offsets care with rawness. And while her process reflects complexity and counterpoint, she arrives easily at the precise moment between too much and too little.  

Soos’ pieces reflect the same openness to experience with her media that she encourages in her studio. The approach is about responsiveness and joy in one’s inner engagement in the moment, with colour, form and composition. Her body of work does not show a refusal to be categorized, but rather a simple embracing of the alternatives - curiosity, dynamism, and boundlessness. As varied as her pieces are, her generosity with her own intuitions and spirit traces an unintentional thread through them. Each work is alive and radiates with play.  

This same generosity makes Soos the model for her ideals around process, and the champion of the many different artists she guides. As is true of an individual piece, a person’s creativity is a process. Whatever our obstacles, Soos’ intention is that we simply bypass them in the doing. If we allow ourselves to work in the moment with the materials at hand, our intuitions are allowed in automatically.

Since her BFA training there, Soos continues to find her creative home in Victoria.

www.andreasoosart.com

How has your relationship with art changed over time?

I always was considered an artsy kid but I hadn’t embraced the word artist until about six years ago. I had called myself an “art instructor” or “art facilitator” as I always taught to people of all ages, but until I left that aspect of my work, I hadn’t really looked at my own art making as in the category of being an “artist”. Now I am very proud to call myself that and know it has taken me years and a lot of work to get here.

Where do you find inspiration? What drives your work?

I usually am inspired by color and the pure process of creating. Music is always playing and helping move me through the work.

What is your favorite part of your process?

The beginning. For a lot of people that initial mark on a blank canvas or paper is frightening but for me it is the mark of possibility. Anything can happen and I know play will be involved. There is no right or wrong at this stage.

What is one thing about your art and/or practice that our audience may not know?

I switch up materials and styles often. I have a short attention span and am always experimenting. I think it is a sign of a creative to not get satisfied doing the same thing over and over.

What does your dream piece/project look like?

I feel like every piece I am working on is a dream. It is a dream come true to be a full-time working artist. I would love to collaborate with some of my favorite artists out there but I don’t really know what that would look like, I just like the idea of working alongside those I admire.