Art Reflection: Ó Abre Alas! at Storm King Art Center (Fall 2025)

Ó ABRE ALAS! translates to “open wings,” a reference to the inaugural float of the Brazilian Carnival. Sonia Gomes’ work evokes that same rich, colorful tapestry—it becomes a festival of textures, materials, and forms. There is a certain wisdom in her work that compels you to reckon with your own limitations.

This tightly bound sculpture of mixed materials appears almost phallic, yet it carries a sense of playfulness. Gomes reuses discarded materials in her work, adding another layer of depth—prompting us to ask: where did this come from? What story does this piece of fabric, wood, wire, or lace have to tell?
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You can see the knots in the fabric as it stretches over the piece of wood, barely visible at the tail end of the sculpture. It’s small but mighty, and I loved getting a closer look at how the fabrics interact and play with one another.

Gomes’ work feels deeply feminine, full of curves and movement. The fraying lace below introduces a sense of imperfection, as if the piece is slowly uncoiling and revealing itself. The bird behind the lace is beautifully composed, appearing as though it’s flying away. I loved the layering in this piece and how all the elements come together to form a cohesive, evocative story.

When you zoom out from Gomes’ work, there’s a sense of heaviness—as if the fabrics are being pulled down by gravity. Some of her pieces resemble butterflies or other natural forms. The one below looked like a winged creature, perhaps a bat—something unafraid to take up space and to embrace imperfection while doing so.

This particular outdoor installation looked like hanging fruit—or perhaps the sacks of some creatures left behind. The bundles of fabric resembled a nest, and seeing it in person left me in awe. Some of Gomes’ works feel amorphous and open to interpretation, while others, like the tapestry below, clearly resemble a blooming flower.

There was so much emotion in these pieces. As I observed her work, I could almost feel the textures—the grittiness, the smoothness, the fibers coming together in this tactile dialogue. You could almost picture her hands making them, which made everything feel so grounded and human. She doesn’t seem to care about uniformity or perfection, but rather about the bulging, curved, hanging forms that make the work feel alive.