Red Lodge Clay Center – Short-Term Resident 2022 (AIA), 2023
Sonja’s work reflects on environmental concerns and addresses our (humankind’s) relationship to nature and to each other. Traditionally Sonja has worked with photography, created immersive video installations and conducted participatory environmental art events with diverse communities. In her large-scale outdoor projects she merges collaborative art-making with sublime nature experience.
More recently she has also been working with ceramics. She creates functional ware as well as conceptual installations with multiple pieces. She creates her works on the wheel and through hand-building techniques. She is exploring atmospheric firing techniques, such as reduction, soda and wood firing. Sonja graduated from the Academy of Art in Stuttgart, Germany in 1997/98 with a degree in Art Education and focus in 3D art. In 2001 she received a Masters degree in New Genres Art from the San Francisco Art Institute. She has been invited to group- and solo- exhibitions worldwide, amongst others the DePaul Museum in Chicago, Kala Art Institute in Berkeley, the David Brower Center in Berkeley, Bedford Gallery in Walnut Creek, Chandra Cerrito Gallery in Oakland, San Francisco Arts Commission, Krowswork in Oakland, Somarts Culture Center in San Francisco, RedLine Gallery in Denver, the Colorado Photo Art Center in Denver, Manifest Gallery in Cincinnati, the Shelburne Museum in Vermont, School 33 Art Center in Baltimore, the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, Saarlaendisches Kuenstlerhaus in Germany, Organhaus in China, Pier 2 Art Center in Taiwan, Deiglan Gallery in Iceland, and many more.
She has participated in numerous artist residencies, such as the Bemis Center in Omaha, Djerassi in California, the Santa Fe Art Institute, Ucross Foundation in WY, Jentel in WY, Women’s Studio Workshop in Rosendale, McColl Center in North Carolina, Valparaiso in Spain, Fiskars in Finland, Saari in Finland, Taipei Artist Village in Taiwan, Akureyri in Iceland, Cobb Mountain Art and Ecology Center in California, Cill Rialiag in Ireland – only to name a few. With her project “Snow Drawings” she has organized winter art events with communities in California, Colorado, Wyoming, NY state, Vermont and in the French Alps.