To the encounter

Author: Sofía Bassi

Name: Al encuentro (To the Encounter)

Date: 1989

Material: Oil on masonite

Dimensions: 23.62 × 29.53 inches

Location: Private collection

Rights: Sofía Bassi Foundation

Al encuentro (To the Encounter) embodies Sofía Bassi’s fascination with mystical landscapes as spaces of transformation and revelation. A spectral female figure, her hair and garments flowing as if stirred by unseen forces, moves along a winding path that disappears into a vast, luminous opening in the earth. The jagged peaks flanking her journey resemble ancient ruins, their sharp, eroded edges suggesting both decay and endurance, reinforcing the idea of a world in flux.

The landscape is charged with an eerie, almost sentient quality, where gnarled branches and organic forms appear to reach toward the traveler, as if guiding or challenging her passage. The vast circular void at the horizon serves as both a destination and a threshold—perhaps a portal into another realm, or a symbolic passage toward enlightenment.

Bassi’s masterful use of shadowy greens and golden earth tones deepens the painting’s otherworldly atmosphere, blurring the lines between physical terrain and metaphysical journey. In Al encuentro, the encounter is not merely a meeting of figures, but a convergence of destiny, energy, and the unknown, inviting the viewer to step into a landscape where the boundaries between matter and spirit dissolve.