By the Ocean

Author: Sofía Bassi

Title: Por el océano (By the Ocean)

Date: c. 1965

Material: Oil on masonite

Dimensions: Unknown

Location: Private collection

Rights: Sofía Bassi Foundation

Sofía Bassi’s By the Ocean captures the introspective and visionary dimension of her work. A spectral female figure stands at the edge of a rocky precipice, gazing toward the boundless sea. Rendered in soft, translucent tones, her presence evokes not only solitude, but a state of suspension—poised between worlds, between time and timelessness.

Surreal elements disrupt the naturalistic setting: an hourglass rests on the shore, alluding to the cyclical nature of time, while a lion’s face emerges unexpectedly from the cliffside, introducing a mythological and symbolic charge. The stark contrast between the dark, textured earth and the luminous turquoise sky intensifies the painting’s metaphysical atmosphere, where space becomes both landscape and threshold.

Rather than offering a narrative, By the Ocean stages an encounter with elemental forces—time, matter, memory—in a moment of stillness charged with spiritual resonance. The sea is not just background but a cosmic expanse, inviting reflection on mortality, transformation, and the permeability of the visible world.