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Sophie Lachowsky

@sophielachowsky

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Art historian, writer, lecturer.
Trustee @theshowroomlondon @dorothydehnerfoundation
Speaker JW3 | Art Historical London| JHSE

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Before becoming a painter, Renoir worked as an apprentice in a fine porcelain workshop .

This early career instilled in him a knack for painting pearly, translucent flesh and the soft texture of hair, suited for the delicate features of youth .

Renoir was captivated by children’s innocence, their colourful clothes, and the sheer delight they took in dressing up.

He treated his young subjects with respect, rarely forcing them to pose so he could capture their genuine concentration and quiet moments with natural informality and emotional warmth.

I very much look forward to speaking about Renoir’s unique talent for portraying children at a talk: The Career Choices of PA Renoir, at @jw3london on 18 November at 7.15 pm

Please book via the link in bio.

Photo: Pierre-Auguste Renoir - Mlle Georgette Charpentier, 1876, Artizon Museum, Ishibashi Foundation, Tokyo, Japan by @sophielachowsky

At the height of the AIDS crisis, when Felix Gonzales-Torres’ partner was dying, a blue cross summoned the evil name of an insurance company. Blue Cross had begun to hold up access to medication and treatment, to protect itself from the rising costs of the epidemic .

The shape that opens between the 4 rigid stacks of photocopy paper evoke the overwhelmingly futile bureaucracy and cruel discrimination faced by suffering patients and their families.

Like Bruce Nauman’s skewed circular tunnel, it forms an endless loop of pain through which body and mind never escape.

Visitors are encouraged to take a sheet of paper with them to lower the piles and widen the gaps until nothing is left of this symbol of betrayal and ruthless abandonment.

A meaningful way to hold on and let go, as we carry that simple light memento through the door.

The Best Way Out is Always Through

Bruce Nauman, Felix Gonzales- Torres, Blain, until 14 November

Best show in town!

#brucenauman @felixgonzaleztorres.foundation @blainart_ by @sophielachowsky

Modernist treats at Frieze Masters

Dorothy Dehner at @BerryCampbell with a museal quality booth in the main section

Her close friend Louise Nevelson at @maruanimercier

Claire Falkenstein at @ortuzargallery, thank you Jeffrey Rowledge for the insightful tour

An unrivaled presentation of Lee Bontecou at @marcselwynfineart Selwyn

The revelation of Aase Texmon Rygh at @oslcontemporary

Kim Lim with WT at @offerwaterman
Purity regained

Lygia Pape at @jahnundjahn

The Chair of Ida Barbarigo with Zoran Music at @axelvervoordt_co

@friezemasters @friezeofficial @dorothydehnerfoundation @louise.nevelson @clairefalkensteinfoundation @kimlimstudio @leebontecou @archiviobarbarigocadorinmusic #lygiapape by @sophielachowsky

Renoir’s flickering light and vibrant colours depict a carefree celebration of youth, beauty and sensual pleasure.

His signature cropped compositions were particularly effective to convey Modernity.
Buzzing cities, life in motion, fleeting gestures and radiant faces are experienced through fragments and brief wonders.

Rather than observing from distant perspectives and detached viewpoints, we occupy the space and encounter emotions well beyond the canvas.

Renoir and Love, National Gallery until 31 January

To coincide with the exhibition , I very much look forward to speaking about The Career Choices of PA Renoir, at @jw3london on 18 November at 7.15 pm

Please book via the link in bio. by @sophielachowsky

Before and after Frieze, there is Free-ze Sculpture
Curated by the formidable Fatoş Üstek

1-2- Tarini Sethi (@tarinisethi ), ‘The Sun Bathes Its Friends and Neighbours’, 2026, with Rajiv Menon Contemporary (@rajivmenon )

3- Carolina Aguirre (@_carolina_aguirre_ ), ‘Held’, 2026, with Ruttkowski;68 (@ruttkowski68 )
4- Catriona Robertson (@catrionart ), ‘WYRM’, 2026 with The Muse Gallery (@muse_at_269 )

5- Douglas White (@douglaswhiteart ) , ‘Black Palm’, 2026, with Leila Heller Gallery (@leilahellergallery )

6-7 Elena Nemkova (@elenix_nemkova_studio ), ‘Agony in the Garden’, 2026, with Dom Art Gallery (@dom_artprojects )

8- Angel Otero (@oteroso ), ‘Dreams and Salt’, 2025-2026 with Hauser & Wirth (@hauserwirth )

9- 12- Matyáš Chochola ( @matyaschochola ) ‘METEOR’, ‘BRUTALIST’ and ‘MACE II’, 2024, with The Chemistry Gallery (@thechemistrygallery )

13- Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran, (#rameshmarionithiyendran ), ‘Warrior Figure’, 2026, with Jhaveri Contemporary and Sullivan+Strumpf (@jhavericontemporary @sullivanstrumpf )

14-15- Ivana Bašić (@ivana_basic ), Metanoia’, 2025 with Albion Jeune (@albionjeune )

16- Özlem Günyol and Mustafa Kunt (@ozlemgunyol_mustafakunt ), ‘Possibilities for a Sculpture’, 2026, with Dirimart (@dirimart )

17- Conrad Shawcross (@conradshawcross ), ‘Eye of the Needle (Time Pebble (E30A13))’, 2026, with Victoria Miro (@victoriamirogallery )

14th Edition of Sculpture, The Regent’s Park until 1 November curated by @fatosustek

Walk in the Park with @ashleycluer

@friezeofficial #friezesculpture by @sophielachowsky

Kicking off Frieze week with the Geometry of Fear in a Spanish Garden.

Lynn Chadwick, An exhibition of Sculpture, 1950s- 1990s, The Roof Gardens, curated by Aurore Ankarcrona Hennessey and Aretha Campbell
In partnership with Perrotin

@perrotin @lynnchadwickarchives @theroofgardens @aceartadvisory @auroreaoh @arethamarycampbell #lynnchadwick by @sophielachowsky

Curated by Kira Wainstein, this intelligent and beautiful show explores prejudices and misconceptions by drawing parallels between the abstract language of textiles and the world of computer science.

In 1804, the Jacquard loom revolutionised weaving by using punched cards to automate textile production. The pattern encoded by the holes in the cards allowed complex designs to be woven automatically into fabric. The principle was later adopted by Charles Babbage, whose Analytical Engine was designed to use punched cards, inspired by the Jacquard loom, to input data and instructions.

Women have played an important and often overlooked role in the history of computing. Before the development of digital computers, women were widely employed as ‘human computers’, performing mathematical calculations in fields including astronomy and aeronautics.

Ada Lovelace, the daughter of Lord Byron, wrote about Babbage’s Analytical Engine. Her 1843 notes contained what is often described as the first published computer program: an algorithm designed to be carried out by the machine. A century later, ENIAC, one of the earliest general-purpose electronic computers, initially had six programmers, all of whom were women.

Code, manual labour and the often-overlooked contribution of women form important threads connecting the histories of textiles and computation.

These stories were brought to a wider audience by the 2017 film Hidden Figures, and can be traced much further back to the ‘Harvard Computers’: more than 80 talented women employed by Edward Charles Pickering at the Harvard College Observatory between 1877 and 1919 to analyse astronomical data and stellar spectra.
The basic dichotomy of weaving the warp and the weft becomes the underlying structure of the world we live in.

Softwear, a group exhibition with Crystal Bennes, daniela brill estrada & Monica C. LoCascio, Charlotte Johannesson, Steph Linn, Shannon Swinburn, No Show Space until 17 October

Softwear is an apexart Open Call Exhibition 2026-27

@kirawainstein
@apexartnyc
@crystalbennes
@danielabrillestrada
@monicadem
@charlotte.johannesson
#stephlin @reduce_productivity
@shanswinburn
@noshowspace by @sophielachowsky

Lucie Rie and Hans Coper profoundly changed the course of studio pottery in Britain, which had been dominated by Bernard Leach and his functional Anglo-Japanese style grounded in rustic tradition.

Not much is ever said about their heartbreaking back story. Both had fled Nazi-occupied Europe, and its terrifying repercussions for the Jews.

Their methods were deeply refined, but could also be bold, with inspirations as varied as Neolithic pots, Cycladic forms and Viennese craftsmanship. They explored vibrant colors, innovative glazes, mottled textures, and complex incised patterns.

This exceptional show focusses on their collaboration throwing vessels, but also their individual approaches and long lasting creative friendship.

Lucie Rie / Hans Coper : Life at the Wheel, Offer Waterman, until 30 October, with rarely seen photographs of the artists at work.

@riecoperfoundation @offerwaterman

#lucierie
#hanscoper
#lifeatthewheel by @sophielachowsky

This is still Gagosian with a museum quality show and the maximum security that goes with it.

The enduring legacy of René Magritte on contemporary artists.

This is Still a Not a Pipe: the Afterlife of Magritte, Gagosian, Grosvenor Hill

@gagosian #renemagritte #belgianartist by @sophielachowsky

Richard Serra’s drawings always were at the core of his practice, they defy any reading.
In the company of contemporary works, they add to the Shudder, a strong emotional reaction within the presence of materiality, purity of forms, darkness and light.

The Shudder, Interval, curated by Jane Bustin, with a short text by curator and writer Andrew Renton

@janebustin @lewis_brander @galssschindler #RichardSerra #edwinaleapman @andrew.renton @annelyjuda @copperfield_london @cristearoberts @artancient @vardaxoglou @interval.clerkenwell

Interval by @sophielachowsky

The harmonious asymmetry of Chardin, and Morandi, the methodical observation of Caravagio and the colour modulation of Cezanne, with the artist’s own blend of haunting memories.
Could it be more exquisite?

Avigdor Arikha: Interiors and Still Life’s, 1969-2009, Jeremy Scholar, curated by Craig Burnett.

@arikhaestate @jeremyscholar @c_n_burnett #avigdorarikha by @sophielachowsky