Sonja Dahlgren art

Motivated by colour

Sonja Dahlgren (b 1973) is a self-taught contemporary abstract expressionist painter who lives in Gothenburg, Sweden.

My work is primarily about colour and different ways to express myself and my lived experience through colour. Central to my work are also the balance between vibrant expression and minimalist simplicity, and between sophistication and playfulness. With the use of bold colours and brushstrokes, I intentionally focus on the expression of beauty and joy, while at the same time aiming to provide a subtle sense of mystery, through layers of paint and brushstrokes. My preferred medium is acrylic paint, but I occasionally use oil pastels, oil sticks and collage.

While creativity, design, photography and art have always been important parts of my life, they have come back into focus during the last two years when I focused a lot of my time, energy and passion on exploring my artistic voice through painting. With intensified energy on the process during spring and summer 2025, I realized I was leaning more and more towards abstract painting, which has for me been a way to listen to my intuition, let go of perfectionism and control, and be more patient and mindful at the same time. In addition, it has been a way of having fun, play and practice “drawing outside the lines”. Things that I believe many adults (including myself) have forgotten how to do, and that we all need more of.

My work is primarily fueled by personal experiences and memories, and I find most of my visual references and inspiration to paint in everyday objects and events, such as; flowers in the garden and in the wild, my close relationships, interiors & exteriors, music, movies and colour combinations that I notice, for example in nature, in a product design or in a successfully styled outfit. Inspiration to paint also comes from more “extraordinary” life experiences, such as traveling, strolling in cities and eating out.

As a painter I am mainly self taught, but I do have several courses in graphic design, photography and visual communication, as well as an art course via St Ives School of Painting on my CV.