Voluptouos Lilac, 2024
Oil on canvas
104 x 73 cm
Griselda, 2024
Oil on canvas
104 x 73 cm
Lost in Velvet I, 2022
Oil on canvas
52 x 45 cm
The Edge of the Garden, 2022
Oil on canvas
56 x 50 cm
Greek God, 2014
Oil on canvas
55 x 47 cm
Sofie Proos' artistic practice weaves together a fascination with historical aesthetics and a deep engagement with humanity's relationship to nature. Her paintings often explore the liminal space between representation and sensation—capturing not what an object looks like, but how it feels. Whether inspired by the textures of a 16th-century velvet fragment or the stylized forms of Renaissance garden plans, her works reflect a meticulous attention to detail, an exploration of time, and a longing to connect across centuries.
Proos delves into the interplay between ornamentation and natural forms, often transforming historical motifs into poetic reflections on memory and care. Her works reveal an interest in the layers of human effort embedded in cultural artifacts, from brocades to architecture, reinterpreting them through a contemporary lens. These reimagined fragments evoke both beauty and fragility, creating a tension between permanence and impermanence that invites the viewer into a space of contemplation.
Drawing on themes of ornamentation, decay, and reinterpretation, Proos' paintings transcend nostalgia. They critique the ideals of past eras while immersing the viewer in their beauty, inviting us to reconsider our place in the endless dialogue between culture and nature. Her works are at once deeply personal and universally resonant, offering a bridge across time through the layers of care, craft, and imagination she imbues in her art.
Archive
Sofie Proos Born 1974 in Södertälje. Lives and works in Stockholm.
Education
Valand University College of Fine Arts Gothenburg 1999-2005
Royal University College of Fine Arts Stockholm 2001-2002
Solo Exhibitions
2022 Kromoxidgrön, Saltskog gård, Södertälje
2019 The Comet of 1797, Rönnells antikvariat, Stockholm
2018 The Great Escape, Stene Projects, Stockholm
2017 If it happened it will last forever, Olseröd konsthall, Olseröd
2014 Resting on the Likeness, Stene Projects, Stockholm
2014 Sofie Proos, Dalarö tullhus, Dalarö
2013 The Awakening-The New Renaissance, Dagmar House of Fashion, Stockholm
2012 Portrait Revisited III, Konstnärshuset, Stockholm
2012 Portrait Revisited II, Stene Projects, Stockholm
2008 Portrait Revisited, CirkulationsCentralen, Malmö
2005 Secret Garden (Graduation show), Galleri Rotor, Göteborg
Group Exhibitions
2024 As Dreamers Do, Bohusläns museum, Uddevalla
2024 Echoes of Nature; Galleri Björkholmen, Stockholm
2023 Sparks of Joy, Körsbärsgården, Gotland
2022 Echoes, Galleri Björkholmen, Stockholm
2019 Konsta(u)ktion, Hangmen Projects, Stockholm
2016 Women don’t paint very well, Hangmen Projects, Stockholm
2016 Contemporary art from Sweden II, Yokohama, Japan
2013 Volta, Basel
2012 Lounge presentation - Five female artists, Stene Projects, Stockholm
2008 Åter, Saltskogs gård - Liljevalchs hem, Södertälje
2007 Det finns mer i livet än färg och form (fast inte mycket), Transit Art Space, Stavanger
2005 La Vitrine, Paris
2005 Studio 44, Stockholm
2004 Här e Vi!, Södertälje konsthall, Södertälje
Publications
2019 The Comet of 1797
2016 Contemporary art from Sweden II
2007 Det finns mer i livet än färg och form, Transit Art Space, Stavanger
Collections
Region Uppsala
Region Västra Götaland
Private collections
Grants
2022 Ragnar von Holtens stipendium, Kngl. Konstakademien
2022 Arbetsstipendium; Konstnärsnämnden
2018 Tvåårigt arbetsstipendium, Konstnärsnämnden
2013 Arbetsstipendium, Konstnärsnämnden
2005 Erik Eriksson, Helge Ax:son Johnsson stiftelse
2003 Otto och Charlotte Mannheimers fond
2002 Grafikens Hus student grant
2001 Otto och Charlotte Mannheimers fond, Per Drougges and Gerd Kerns Minnesfond
Public Commissions
2021 Kvinnebyskolans bibliotek, Linköping
2019 Södersjukhuset
2012 Falu lasarett
2012 Danderyds sjukhus
2008 Södertälje nya stadshus