ABOUT Sonja
Seeking to create works that feels joyful, pure and “raw”
“Sonja’s work is rooted in her love of colour, and a deep drive to explore colour relationships, and create works that radiate joyfulness and life. With the use of bold colours, “raw” surfaces, abstract shapes and gestural brush strokes, she intentionally focuses on the expression of joy, simplicity and a sense of aliveness. For the viewer, she wants her work to feel joyful, pure and raw - almost like a sigh of relief.”
Sonja Dahlgren (b 1973) is a contemporary abstract painter based in Gothenburg (Göteborg), Sweden.
THE “WHY”
Sonja’s work is rooted in a deep love of colour, and she intentionally focuses on the expression of joy, simplicity and a sense of aliveness. Sonja is primarily interested in colour relationships, and the relationship between surface and colour. She is also exploring how joy and aliveness can be constructed within a composition, through the use of bold colours, “raw” surfaces, abstract shapes and gestural brush strokes. For the viewer, she wants her work to feel joyful, pure and “raw” - almost like a sigh of relief.
THE creative process
Sonja’s approach to painting is equal parts deliberate and intuitive, moving between structure and spontaneity to create rhythm, aliveness and harmony. She likes to work with a loose idea, often starting out with sketches, and predetermined colour combinations. Her preferred medium is acrylic paint, but she occasionally uses gouache, oil pastels, oil and oil sticks. Sonja loves working with paper, especially for its immediacy, and the way it lends an artwork the feel of fragility and impermanence. When she works on canvas, she puts a lot of effort into creating surfaces that feels “raw” and imperfect, reminiscent of grainy paper or an old concrete wall, because she believes that the surface affects how a piece is experienced. Experimentation is an essential part of her process, and she stays open to coincidences and surprises.
Although Sonja’s paintings often read as purely abstract, their colours and forms are frequently drawn from her surroundings, such as; nature, the marina near her home, flowers in her garden, art history, travels, fashion and architecture. Sonja’s work is informed by fauvism, abstract expressionism and the colour field painting movement, and the work of e.g. Henri Matisse, Ellsworth Kelly, Helen Frankenthaler and Imi Knoebel.
THE Background
Sonja is a self-taught painter, and before committing fully to painting, her professional journey spanned several creative and human-centred fields. Her education includes a bachelor of early childhood education, a masters degree in psychology and several university courses in photography, visual communication and graphic design. She began her career as an early years teacher, later worked as a lifestyle/food photographer and food stylist, and then practiced as a couple’s therapist. Over time, her lifelong engagement with creativity and visual expression led her to focus seriously on fine art, and develop a studio practice grounded in her love of colour.