I’ve never been very good at staying
in one lane.
Not in life.
Not in art.
I paint.
I build.
I dismantle.
I give old things a second chance.
Sometimes it’s canvas.
Sometimes vintage music sheets.
Sometimes wood, windows, mannequin hands —
or whatever refuses to be thrown away.
I paint people who don’t always behave.
Bodies that try to stand.
Faces that hold two opinions at once.
I like when things shift.
When a painting can be turned upside down.
When color refuses to be polite.
Perfection is overrated.
Presence is better.
And if something wobbles a little
I usually let it. — Sof
Artistic Education & Background
1987–1989 Literature and History, Lycée Henri IV / Sorbonne University, Paris
1989–1993 Business Studies (Diploma), Université Paris-Dauphine
Parallel studies in painting and drawing with Prof. R. Leprince, ESAG Penninghen, ParisGuest student at the Académie des Beaux-Arts, Paris.
Artist Statement
I search for meaning in all directions — and often, I laugh along the way.
Perhaps I will feel satisfied the day I have made my way all around myself.
I am not there yet.
My work unfolds in multiple directions at once.
Painting, upcycling — the medium matters less than what it allows me to shift, question and explore.
It begins with attention:
to what is seen,
what is overlooked,
and what quietly escapes.
To see, not to see.
To feel — sometimes too much, sometimes not enough.
Too much meaning.
Or not enough.So I keep searching.
I am less interested in controlling than in holding things together:
techniques, tensions, contradictions.Accidents are not mistakes —
at worst, they are discreet collaborators.
Some days, everything feels empty.
Others, everything overflows.In between, I work.
Over time, this approach has taken on a simple form:
“In alle Richtungen.”
A way of moving forward through curiosity, transformation and unexpected connections — while leaving room for humor, a subtle poetic wink, and the possibility that things might become something entirely different from what they first appeared to be.
— Sof
Solo Exhibitions (selection)
2026 - Open Atelier Sof - Last call for dem Urlaub, Atelier Sof
2025 - Opening of the Sof Showroom, Atelier Sof, Krefeld (DE)
2024 - Heute gehe ich zu Sof! (Today I’m going to Sof!), Atelier Sof, Krefeld (DE)
- Sof at Schirrhof, Kamp-Lintfort (DE)
2023 - Ein Wiedersehen in Lübz (A Reunion in Lübz), Lübz (DE)
- Upcycling à la Sof, VKU Forum, Berlin (DE)
2022 - Sof at ZZK, Upcycling Art Prize “En marche”, Lübz (DE)
- Sof, Upcycling Works, VKU Forum, Berlin (DE)
- Painting and Sculpture, Galerie ArtKonform, Krefeld
2019 - Sof chez D000, Galerie D000, Krefeld (DE)
2018 - À quoi bon toujours chercher un sens? (Why Always Search for Meaning?), Kultur Köln 30, Cologne (DE)
2017 - C’est parti!, Hessing Stiftung, Augsburg (DE)
2016 - Sof… tout court, Sparkasse Saarbrücken (DE)
2015 - Sof at KVNO, Düsseldorf (DE)
- In alle Richtungen, Higher Regional Court, Düsseldorf (DE)
Group Exhibitions (selection)
2009 - L’homme dans tous ses états (Man in All His States), Dürener Tor (DE)
2025 - Das kleine Format – Alles geht..., Malkasten, Düsseldorf (DE)
2024 - Das kleine Format – Countdown, Malkasten, Düsseldorf (DE)
2021 - Das kleine Format – Transparenz, Malkasten, Düsseldorf (DE)
2016 - STR’OFF #3 – “Am Ende der Sinne” (At the End of the Senses), OFF Program, ST-ART International Contemporary Art Fair, Strasbourg (FR)
- Begegnungen (Encounters), Galerie Heidefeld & Partner, Krefeld (DE)
2013 - Full House, Galerie Heidefeld & Partner, Krefeld (DE)
2012 - Das kleine Format – Weltuntergang (End of the World), Malkasten, Düsseldorf (DE)
2009 - Kunsttage Rhein-Erft, Brauweiler Abbey (DE)
2008 - Das kleine Format – Ohne die Seerosen... (Without the Water Lilies…), Malkasten, Düsseldorf (DE)
2007 - Das kleine Format – Honig ist richtig (Honey Is Right), Malkasten, Düsseldorf (DE)
1998 - Beziehungen II (Relationships II), Thyssen Trade Center, Düsseldorf (DE)
1995 - Moers Art Fair ’95, Forum Eurotec-Center (DE)
Awards, Residencies & Projects
2023 - Upcycling Residency “En marche”, Lübz (DE)
2022 - Upcycling Art Prize “En marche”, Berlin (DE) — followed by residency, Lübz (DE)
2021 - Transphere Artist Grant, France — interdisciplinary project with P. Mira (piano) and P. Barry (VJing) (FR)
- Artist Grant Upcycling II, MKW NRW (DE)
2020 - Artist Grant Upcycling I, MKW NRW (DE)
Publications 2016 - Sof… tout court, catalogue, Sparkasse Saarbrücken (DE)
2014 -100 Artists – 100 Tiles, Aachen (DE)
2013 - MPK Collection, Vol. II
2012 -Tête-à-tête en tête, catalogue, Cabinet Bizouard (FR)
Online - Singulart · Artmajeur · ArtFacts
