Sophia Gunkel

Sophia Gunkel is an abstract and landscape painter with German and Malaysian roots.

The primary concepts Sophia explores in her work are emotion and energy. Her paintings are created in a fluid and intuitive manner and explore the expression of the subconscious in abstract form. The artist enjoys working and experimenting with different paint mediums, each piece is uniquely created through a multitude of layers.

Sophia’s passion for art and painting developed during her upbringing in Asia and Europe, in particular to the erupting art scenes in Shanghai and Singapore.

After completing her bachelor’s in the Netherlands in 2013, she started a career in real estate in Singapore. Alongside to her real estate work, Sophia was also involved in her family’s jewellery business.

Painting for Sophia has always been an important priority in life, “ The action of painting helps me subconsciously make sense of things that I cannot otherwise make sense of rationally. I can’t imagine not doing it.”

While Sophia’s artistic practice has been mostly self-taught, she has also attended the Academy of Art in Bad Reichenhall, Germany.

In 2018, the artist decided to move back to Europe to pursue her art further. She is currently living in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, focusing on producing and promoting her art.

Today, Sophia’s artwork can be found in private collections all over the world. She has sold her work through galleries such as UNIQUE PCS at Mandarin Gallery Orchard, Singapore, and even more broadly online.

Her work was also exhibited at the Singapore Art Apart Fair in 2018 and in 2019 at the ‘The Local POP-UP-SHOP’ at Van Hallstraat 91-93, Amsterdam. She was featured in British Vogue: January, February & March 2020 as well as other digital and print publications.

Sophia’s work is currently being exhibited at the ‘The Local POP-UP-SHOP’ at Reguliersdwarsstraat 25, Amsterdam. Sophia is also the first guest artist exhibiting at the ‘Samata Soul’ centre in Singapore from March - June 2020.

Follow Sophia’s journey on instagram @sophia.gunkel