From Paris to Downtown Dubai: See artist Sophie-Yen Bretez's artworks in UAE

Dubai, UAE: Colourful, bold and emotionally charged. There is a certain sense of poignancy, in the artworks by Paris-based artist Sophie-Yen Bretez, currently at display at Dubai's JD Malat Gallery.

While you admire the striking colours and surrealistic imagery of the paintings, there is an inevitable sinking feeling, a powerful sense of tension, which Bretez successfully conveys to the observer.

Her solo exhibition is titled The Unsaid Remains Remembered, and this new body of work runs till 2 November 2025 in Downtown Dubai.

Bretez, who moved to France at a young age, brings a rich fusion of cultural heritage to her practice. She explores the space where times overlap and where memory persists as life shifts forward. The artist calls this a “dramaturgy of passage.”

This powerful concept unfolds across bold, large-scale compositions and shaped canvases, extending her narrative beyond the traditional frame.

Challenging Gazes and the Recovery of the Horizon

Bretez’s artistic philosophy centers on what remains when figures retreat - silence, time, and memory. Her oeuvre is already marked by a signature dream-like surrealist figuration and depiction of complex emotional states. Her work focuses on discovering ways to mirror the human condition in a state of recovery.

The artist previously worked to challenge the traditional male gaze. She utilised reverse voyeurism.

The unfaltering, strong women in her earlier paintings stare directly at the spectator. This serves to create distance. They prove they are not at the viewer's disposal.

They assert control of their own bodies. This current exhibition marks a vital evolution from that focus. Bretez shifts her exploration of vulnerability and presence beyond the human body. She moves it toward reflections, objects, and landscapes.

In her compositions, Bretez often includes an illuminated horizon line. She states: “I paint horizons for those who have suffered.”

By portraying her characters or subjects in semi-open spaces with a sunset or sunrise, she blurs the boundaries of the confined ‘safe’ space. This ultimately highlights the ambiguity of the human condition.

Bretez uses both scale and form to transform everyday items into symbolic thresholds. A window, a table, a bed, or a clock guides the viewer from one state of being into another. These familiar motifs are paired with horizons of shifting skies and mountains. This creates a powerful tension. It juxtaposes the intimacy of the domestic space with the vastness of the natural world.

Poetry, Memory, and the Self-Taught Path

Bretez pursued her passion for art after completing a Master Grand École at Neoma Business School in 2018. After holding multiple management positions in Paris, she decided to pursue art full time in 2021.

As a natural storyteller, Bretez begins each painting with a poem linked to memory. She titles her works after these spontaneous poems. This process incorporates an additional layer of dialogue between the work, the viewer, and herself.

A self-taught artist, she seeks to perpetuate a wider reflection of political, societal, and existential themes. She testifies to the intimate and the universal through substantive narratives.

This exhibition in Dubai shows the new depth in her work. Elements like reflections in glass, bite marks on fruit, or a half-cleared table now suggest what is absent. The paintings become less literal. They become full of charged atmosphere.

Bretez applies expressive contrasts of colour. She uses textured surfaces and glazes that intensify the light. She invites viewers to look closely. They contemplate where to find fragility and strength.