1969 Born in Talence
1987-1989 Literature and history studies, Lycée Henri IV and Paris Sorbonne
1989 -1993 Master's degree in economics, Paris Dauphine.
Drawing and painting lessons with Prof. R. Leprince, ESAG Penninghen, Paris.
Auditeur libre at the Académie des Beaux Arts, Paris.
1994 Moved to Germany and set up studio
1996 - 2001 Birth of 4 children 1996 Lives and works in Krefeld since 1996
2016 Opening of "Atelier-galerie Sof" in Krefeld
Prize
2022 /
Upcycling Prize, Berlin
2021 /
Artistic Grant MKW, NRW "Transphère": live improvisation show in collaboration with two French artists: Philippe Mira (piano) and Patrice Barry
Artistic Grant Upcycling 2, MKW, NRW
2020 /
Artistic Grant Upcycling 1, MKW, NRW
2020-2021 /
Diploma of artistic merit - Luxemburg Art Prize
Exhibitions
Solo exhibitions (Selection from 2016)
2023:
Schrirrhof, Kamp-Lintfort
VKU Forum, Berlin
2022:
Gründerzentrum, Willich
VKU Forum, Berlin
2021:
Die Brille, Krefeld
Brillenlager, Willich
BC GmbH, Willich Kulturcamp e.v, Kamp-Lintfort
2019 - 2020:
Galerie D000, Krefeld Hessing Stiftung, Augsburg Il Sorriso, Krefeld
BC GmbH, Willich
2017 - 2018:
Hessing Stiftung, Augsburg Verein Kultur Köln 30 Askitis, Düsseldorf
2016:
Sparkasse Saarbrücken: Financing of the catalog "Sof... Tout court" catalogue and the Atelier - Galerie Sof in Krefeld
Heidefeld Gallery, Krefeld
KVNO, Kassenärztliche Vereinigung Nordrhein
Permanent exhibitions
M&A Active, Düsseldorf
Wunschanwalt, Düsseldorf
Allcura Versicherung, Munich and Hamburg Villa Medici, Krefeld
Leolux, Krefeld
Rehazentrum Come Back, Willich
Dr. Dieler's practice, Krefeld
Active member
Malkasten, Düsseldorf
Kulturcamp e.v, Kampf-Lintfort Kunst und Raum 21 e.V, Krefeld Lions Club Barbarossa, Düsseldorf
Publications
2016 Catalogue "Sof... Tout court! "catalogue, Sparkasse Saarbrücken
2014 "100 Künstler - 100 Kacheln", Aachen
2013 Sammlung MPK / MPK Collection Volume II
2012 Catalogue "Tête-à-tête en têtes", Cabinet Bizouard, France
From 2016, at the Sof studio-gallery :
Live events: Comedy /Jazz / Soirées chanson / "Transphere" Solo and group exhibitions
Various programs for schools and adults (Painting and upcycling)
Personal vision of art
I'm an artist who likes to play with colors, techniques and styles.
Whether painting or upcycling, the diversity of my work never ceases to amaze.
It's one of the main characteristics of my work.
I call this "in all directions" way of living and thinking:
in all directions. Many of my paintings can be "read", i.e. interpreted, from different angles, sometimes even from all sides. These reversible paintings can be interpreted differently depending on the angle from which they are viewed, and often bear a double-meaning title.
The all-encompassing meaning is expressed in a haphazard or scattered manner, with the canvases painted in a "wild" manner.
and in parallel with this varied pictorial work, there's upcycling, too ... in all directions!
The latter is an incessant need to banish boredom and repetition, and to hope for that New, which I often despair of discovering.
But who ever stops looking?
THE SOF PAINTER: SOPHIE VOIGT-CHADEYRON OR VIRTUOSITY IN COLOR (Galerie Heidefeld)
So, above all, her painting focuses on a subject: "My main theme is and remains the human being", she says. And this human being sometimes has the astonishing ability to "sneak in" beyond the painter's true intentions. Sof: "Even when I don't absolutely want to see it, it always appears in my paintings, as if by chance. I force myself and often try to forget it. One of my techniques is to simply turn the canvas upside down...".
How does this work? Here's an example: Sof draws a landscape in shimmering colors, demonstrating the extent to which his painting knows how to use pointillist and impressionist figures of speech in an expressive way. But the result, the pure interplay of colors, is not always enough for her. The painter then breaks the picture with a rather impulsive composition: in the center appears the naked white figure of a totally abstracted man. With this element, the artist deepens and completes the overall effect of her painting. Such pure-white abstract figures appear in many of Sophie Voigt-Chadeyron's paintings.
Sophie Voigt-Chadeyron. What sets them apart is their minimalist narrowness, reminiscent of Alberto Giacometti's sculptures (albeit without their large, oversized feet). Human silhouettes stand out against nature and landscape.
"Human nature": the omnipresence of man.
Nature in general always plays a leading role in Sof's work.
"Étang" is a key term for an important source of inspiration for this French-born artist. Even as a child, she loved Claude Monet's paintings, particularly those depicting ponds and water lilies. This establishes a direct line with her penchant for frequent use of stylistic devices akin to Impressionism.
Sophie Voigt-Chadeyron is also interested in atmospheres, in snapshots reflecting moods and spiritual states, which she wants the viewer to feel. For her main subject remains man. "Clouds, trees, plants: ever since I was a child, nature in general has demanded human traits," she explains, describing a striking evolution. "Always and everywhere, I discover human faces and forms, even if I don't necessarily want to perceive them".
Nature in this artist's paintings is animated. Thus, the attentive viewer can always discover anonymous faces and elements or hints of human forms in her works. Sophie Voigt-Chadeyron has found a term for such images that she likes to use: "Humaine nature", human nature.
Virtuos and versatile - also in her sculptural art.
"Sophie Voigt-Chadeyron is a contemporary artist of expressive chromatic gesture, inventive refinement and exciting virtuosity", is how gallery owner Egon Heidefeld characterizes the painter, whose varied work has been represented for many years by Heidefeld & Partner. These include uniform, smooth compositions and works with glazed paint application that employ a pictorial language that is once again virtuosic and expressive.
2016
