ARTIST STATEMENT
Sofie Way’s work is currently evolving in its form, yet constant in examining grief, womanhood, and the body. Moving from constant text, loud color and lines to a more minimalist and sculptural approach, she conveys the same emotions in a new way - breaking the boundaries of the canvas and what it means to express oneself.
Her new paintings are the manifestation of growing pains: the chasms which grow within us, the innerworkings of humans concealed or bared, resurfacing cracks in our skin. Although they are completely new and unlike the artist’s previous body of work, they are a sign of change and reinterpretation pointing towards recovery from grief.
BIO
Through painting, digital work and animation, Chicago artist Sofie Way examines how grief and womanhood interact with one another. Way, inspired by artists such as Tracy Emin and Rene Magritte, uniquely illustrates the surreality of being a young woman. Her work is deeply influenced by both music and art in combination with grief and illness.
Way’s work has been featured in the 2019 Juried Skidmore Student Exhibition at the Schick Art Gallery, the 2019 Tang Party at the Tang Teaching Museum, and 2018 Pattern Recognition at the Schick Art Gallery. She will receive her Bachelor’s in Fine Arts concentrated in painting at Columbia College Chicago in 2023 with a Record of Study and Achievement from University of the Arts London Study Abroad Programme.
bio and statement edited by Sierra Delamarter
Instagram: @sofie.way
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Education:
● Columbia College Chicago BFA Painting, 2023 (Dean’s Scholarship)
● University of the Arts London Integrated Study Abroad, Fall 2019
● New Trier Township High School, class of 2017
● New Trier in Perú, For advanced Students, 2015
● New Trier Township High School, Honor Roll 2013-17
Art Studies:
● Columbia College Chicago BFA painting Program
● Skidmore College Major in Studio Art, 2017-2020 (Concentrated in Oil Painting and Animation)
● University of the Arts London at Camberwell Study Abroad, Fall 2019
● Drawing/Painting 1, 2, and 3, New Trier Township High School, 2013-16
● Video Art 1, New Trier Township High School, 2014-15
● Drawing Studies, School of the Art Institute Chicago, Summer 2014
Art Honors/Exhibitions:
● out of the basement: 2023 Undergraduate fine arts bfa thesis exhibition, the Glass curtain gallery
● make no small plans, columbia college chicago Alcove gallery, 2022-23
● 2019 Juried Student Exhibition, Skidmore College Schick Gallery
● 2019 Tang Teaching Party, Tang Teaching Museum
● Highland Park Women in the Arts Exhibition, Highland Park Art Center, 2016