I’ve never been very good at staying
in one lane.
Not in life.
Not in art.                                                                                                    

I paint.
I build.
I dismantle.                                                                                                         

I give old things a second chance.
Sometimes it’s canvas.
Sometimes vintage music sheets.
Sometimes wood, windows, mannequin hands —
or whatever refuses to be thrown away.                                                  

I paint people who don’t always behave.
Bodies that try to stand.
Faces that hold two opinions at once.                                                       

I like when things shift.
When a painting can be turned upside down.
When color refuses to be polite.                                                  

Perfection is overrated.
Presence is better.                                                                                      

And if something wobbles a little
I usually let it.                                                                                             

— Sof

Artistic Education & Background

1987–1989 Literature and History, Lycée Henri IV / Sorbonne University, Paris

1989–1993 Business Studies (Diploma), Université Paris-Dauphine      

Parallel studies in painting and drawing with Prof. R. Leprince, ESAG Penninghen, Paris

Guest student at the Académie des Beaux-Arts, Paris.

Artist Statement

I search for meaning in all directions — and often, I laugh along the way.                                                                                                                   

Perhaps I will feel satisfied the day I have made my way all around myself. I am not there yet.                                                                             

             

My work unfolds in multiple directions at once.                          

Painting, upcycling — the medium matters less than what it allows me to shift and explore. 

It is rooted in an attention to what can be perceived, what is sought, and what sometimes escapes.

To see, not to see. To feel — sometimes too much, sometimes not enough.                                 

Too much meaning. Or not enough. So I keep searching.                     

I am less interested in controlling than in holding things together: techniques, tensions, contradictions.                                              

Accidents are not mistakes — at worst, they are discreet collaborators.

Some days, everything feels empty. Others, everything overflows. In between, I work.

Over time, this approach has taken on a simple form:
“in alle Richtungen.”                                                                                             

A way of moving forward, exploring — while leaving room for a touch of irony, a subtle poetic wink where it might not be expected 

— and allowing things to transform without ever fixing them. 

Sof


Solo Exhibitions (selection)

2025 - Opening of the Sof Showroom, Atelier Sof, Krefeld (DE)
2024 - Heute gehe ich zu Sof! (Today I’m going to Sof!), Atelier Sof, Krefeld (DE)
            Sof at Schirrhof, Kamp-Lintfort (DE)
2023 - Ein Wiedersehen in Lübz (A Reunion in Lübz), Lübz (DE)
            Upcycling à la Sof, VKU Forum, Berlin (DE)
2022 - Sof at ZZK, Upcycling Art Prize “En marche”, Lübz (DE)
        Sof, Upcycling Works, VKU Forum, Berlin (DE)
    Painting and Sculpture, Galerie ArtKonform, Krefeld (DE)
2019 - Sof chez D000, Galerie D000, Krefeld (DE)
2018 - À quoi bon toujours chercher un sens? (Why Always Search for Meaning?), Kultur Köln 30, Cologne (DE)
2017 - C’est parti!, Hessing Stiftung, Augsburg (DE)
2016 - Sof… tout court, Sparkasse Saarbrücken (DE)
2015 - Sof at KVNO, Düsseldorf (DE)
       In alle Richtungen, Higher Regional Court, Düsseldorf (DE)
2009 - L’homme dans tous ses états (Man in All His States), Dürener Tor (DE)


Group Exhibitions (selection)                                                                                           

2025 - Das kleine Format – Alles geht..., Malkasten, Düsseldorf (DE)
2024 - Das kleine Format – Countdown, Malkasten, Düsseldorf (DE)
2021 - Das kleine Format – Transparenz, Malkasten, Düsseldorf (DE)
2016 - STR’OFF #3 – “Am Ende der Sinne” (At the End of the Senses), OFF Program, ST-ART International Contemporary Art Fair, Strasbourg (FR)
     Begegnungen (Encounters), Galerie Heidefeld & Partner, Krefeld (DE)
2013 - Full House, Galerie Heidefeld & Partner, Krefeld (DE)
2012 - Das kleine Format – Weltuntergang (End of the World), Malkasten, Düsseldorf (DE)
2009 - Kunsttage Rhein-Erft, Brauweiler Abbey (DE)
2008 - Das kleine Format – Ohne die Seerosen... (Without the Water Lilies…), Malkasten, Düsseldorf (DE)
2007 - Das kleine Format – Honig ist richtig (Honey Is Right), Malkasten, Düsseldorf (DE)
1998 - Beziehungen II (Relationships II), Thyssen Trade Center, Düsseldorf (DE)
1995 - Moers Art Fair ’95, Forum Eurotec-Center (DE)


Awards, Residencies & Projects                                                            

2023 - Upcycling Residency “En marche”, Lübz (DE)
2022 - Upcycling Art Prize “En marche”, Berlin (DE) — followed by residency, Lübz (DE)
2021 - Transphere Artist Grant, France — interdisciplinary project with P. Mira (piano) and P.   Barry (VJing) (FR)
    Artist Grant Upcycling II, MKW NRW (DE)
2020 - Artist Grant Upcycling I, MKW NRW (DE)


Publications   

2016 - Sof… tout court, catalogue, Sparkasse Saarbrücken (DE)
2014 -100 Artists – 100 Tiles, Aachen (DE)
2013 - MPK Collection, Vol. II
2012 - Malerei – Tête-à-tête en tête, catalogue, Cabinet Bizouard (FR)

Online     

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