In another Dimension, In another space, In another world

I first saw Valerie's small shooting star sculpture at the Delphian X Guts Gallery Exhibition in London. Back in the day we were all still going to openings and enjoying the free. There it was, a clay made sculpture, that had been painted with her Brighton inspired colour choices blue, black, white in the shape of a shooting star. The tip of the star had seemingly landed on a small piece of moonstone, which glistened in the gallery’s artificial light.

Flashbacks: sitting in the south of France during the month of August, staring into the night sky, every night waiting for a shooting start to fall within my field of vision. It never happened until years later in Cuba, when I wasn’t even trying. Valerie's sculpture emits this sense of awaiting and determination, looking beyond what is here in this moment.

It is late summer or maybe already early autumn of 2020 when I meet Valerie for the first time. She is tall and slim but gives off a feeling of robustness. We didn’t speak much about her practice, rather about life's unexpected turns and events. I didn’t tell her about my moment with her sculpture. It seemed insignificant and somehow rather personal.  

I’ll see you again
Raw Moonstone, acrylic, markers and clay
2019

Several months later, I get to look at her works on the walls of Studi0, no clay but paint this time.

In her paintings we meet scary figures, with wide open mouths and weirdly shaped teeth that although being frightening are not unknown or uncomfortable to be around, rather they feel oddly familiar. It is as if Savchits gives our demons an appearance, the ones that live within you or me, but we try to hide them from pretty much everyone around us. She makes them real, she gives them life and through that makes them disappear, just like when you are a child and finally found the courage to look under your bed. You faced the monster - now it's gone.

Poison me once again
Acrylic on Canvas, 152x 122 cm
2020

Valerie's work is understandably not depicting reality but it feels in moments so close to it, I see the frustration and feel the disappointment. She manages to use symbols, suspended in a dreamlike state, in a manner that helps us, the viewer, unfold the stories within these fantastical scenes and gives us insights into her current reality. Recurring motives such as the heart, the thornes, the dogs all give us a small glimpse into her thoughts and her experiences. 

She is generous with her use of motives and allows us to not only see but also read words, sometimes entire sentences that almost function as subtitles to the still image we are looking at further elaborating the stories of her painted figures.  

Her canvases are full of these uncanny personalities that move through life and many of them have furry companions with them who play into her manifold use of symbols and language. Her cats seem to be somewhat cheeky, the use of dogs as participants in her narratives have an undertone of aggression however one isn’t sure who this is aimed at. Which side of these dogs am I standing on? The ambiguity in her works between the good and the bad, love and hate is omnipresent.  

Dualism
Acrylic on Canvas, 30x 30 cm
2020

I feel her work sitting with me as I go through life, her words on canvas constantly coming back to me, like punchlines in the story of life and reflecting so accurately the facettes of emotions.

Every single thing you said
Oil bar on Canvas, 29x 40 cm
2020

For more information on Valerie Savchits have a look at her artist page or website.

Text by Helen Waldburger