The idea of Carte Blanche is to provide a platform for contemporary art now. Local and International creatives and artists will be given the opportunity to show their works in a virtual gallery online and a gallery space at the Aurora premises.
november 2025
Sophie Eymond
Sophie Eymond was born in Clamart, France, in 1991, and currently lives and works in the Val de Loire (Orléans, France). She studied at École Boulle in Paris, one of France’s most renowned schools for sculpture, where she trained in the studios of Yorhan Lebovici and Patrick Blanchard. She continued her education in Val Gardena, focusing on classical statuary at the Professional School for Artistic Crafts in Ortisei, and spent two years working alongside sculptor Peter Kostner. Her artistic practice is shaped by a diverse range of inspirations, including Cy Twombly, Miriam Cahn, Fabienne Verdier, Camille Claudel, Picasso’s Blue and Rose periods, as well as classical Greek and Roman sculpture. She also draws from a personal fascination with biology and the microscopic world of microorganisms. Eymond’s primary media include sculpture in clay, plaster, and bronze, along with embroidered textiles and recently drawings. “The fragility of the human being unsettles me,” says Sophie Eymond. The artist combines traditional and contemporary approaches, bringing together diverse materials in innovative ways while exploring new conceptual understandings of sculpture. Her work is infused with tenderness and intimacy, a sense of enigmatic poetry, and a quiet magic that evokes wonder. Eymond often merges embroidered textiles with plaster or polyester casts. This fusion creates sculptural forms, sometimes anthropomorphic, that are always rich with meaning. For the 14th edition of Carte Blanche at the Aurora Hotel Eymond will show new works alongside works that are characterizing for her oeuvre.
„Human identity is the most fragile thing that we have, and it’s often only found in moments of truth.“
The work shown at the Aurora
They are sold directly by the artist to the customer with a certificate of authenticity and invoice.
About
SONGE
Born in 1991 in Clamart, France, Sophie Eymond lives and works in the Val de Loire region (Orléans, France).
She studied at the École Boulle in Paris, one of France’s most prestigious art and design schools, where she trained in the sculpture studios of Yorhan Lebovici and Patrick Blanchard. Eymond later continued her studies in Val Gardena, specializing in classical statuary at the School of Art and Craft in Ortisei (St. Ulrich), and spent two years working alongside sculptor Peter Kostner.
Eymond’s artistic practice draws on a rich spectrum of influences, including Cy Twombly, Miriam Cahn, Fabienne Verdier, Camille Claudel, and Picasso’s Blue and Rose Periods, as well as classical Greek and Roman sculpture. She also finds profound inspiration in her fascination with biology and the microscopic world of microorganisms, whose organic creativity creates the forms and textures of her work.
Working primarily in clay, plaster, and bronze, as well as with embroidered textiles and more recently drawing, Eymond bridges traditional craftsmanship and contemporary expression. “The fragility of the human being troubles me,” she notes, a sentiment that underpins her exploration of vulnerability, intimacy, and transformation. Her works embody a delicate balance between tenderness and tension, suffused with poetic mystery and quiet wonder.
Often combining embroidery with plaster or polyester casts, Eymond creates sculptural forms, sometimes anthropomorphic, sometimes abstract that are layered with symbolic meaning and emotional depth.
For the 14th edition of Carte Blanche, titled Sogne, at the Aurora Hotel, Eymond will present a selection of new works alongside pieces that are emblematic of her practice, offering viewers an intimate encounter with the fragile beauty and spiritual resonance at the heart of her art.
At the base of Eymond´s work lies a paradox that expresses the duality of being through ambiguous feelings that confront one another and reveal human complexity.
The artist wants her sculptures and installations to convey, at the same time, melancholy, sadness, pain, visible fragility, but also joy, sweetness, and wonder.
Her works speak about life, death, sexuality, about relationships between beings, and about their spiritual quest. Everything must be intertwined.
The works must be complex.
She often speaks about the beauty of vulnerability. Fragility is perceived as a weakness in our society, which is too focused on willpower and strength. Yet fragility is one of humanity’s most beautiful qualities. Isn’t it what allows us to be touched by grace?
I believe that art is a way to understand humanity. Like Giorgio Allegri’s Miserere, we exist between the hope of being saved and loved, and the sadness of our own mediocrity, between the infinite joy of being little gods and the tragedy of our wickedness.
Nature is at the center of Emonds work. She studied mold for a long time .
The creativity of the organic world fascinates the youn frech multidisciplinary artist. The patterns in her embroideries are inspired by these unique forms. The mold in the embroideries is only an evocation highlighting the power of symbolism.
The form of water, and in particular the frozen waterfalls that appear when the snow melts in high mountains, has also fascinated the artist and can be seen throughout her works as a source of influence.
Event Photos
coming soon
THE IDEA
The aim is to curate the Hotel’s art specifically - we want there to be good stories and a lasting wellbeing for the guests as well as try to make them have a unique and distinctive experience. The interplay of art design and the Hotel Aurora’s architecture is what characterizes this special place in South Tyrol. The historic hotel in Merano is marked by art treasures and designer pieces that one can find throughout the hotel as well as in every room and this is what makes the Aurora so outstanding. Carte Blanche will host about 6 art exhibitions per year and is keen on giving artists the opportunity to also create site specific works for the hotel that will be shown permanently. The shown art works as well as art editions of works on display will be available at the Hotels Aurora’s own art corner.
THE CURATOR
The upcoming exhibitions will be curated by the freelance curator Eva von Ingram Harpf. Curator Eva von Ingram Harpf, 1987, after graduating from Bocconi University in Milan with a thesis in Art Banking worked at Johann König Gallery in Berlin, as well as Ghetta Gallery, Ortisei and holds a Master´s degree in Contemporary Art from Sothebys London. Since 2012 she works as an independent curator and art adviser and is based in Bolzano, Südtirol, Italy. She is a member of the board of ar/ge Kunst Bozen and founder of y-contemporary platform.