Sophia Weisensel is a midwest based artist, originally from Minnesota. She received her BFA in studio art in 2019 from Bethany Lutheran College and was awarded the Artist’s Purchase Award upon graduation. She then attended the New York Academy of Art, where she received her MFA in 2021. Upon graduation, Weisensel was awarded the Dana Schutz Patron’s Scholar Award and the Dahesh Museum Award. She has been in multiple shows in Minnesota, including a solo show in 2019 at the Emy Frentz gallery, and has multiple pieces in private collections across the country. Weisensel was a part of The New York Academy of Art Deck the Walls in 2019 and 2020 and had work shown in the 2020, 2021, and 2022 Tribeca Ball. Her most recent shows include a group exhibition, Nude, at Manifest gallery in Cincinnati, and Worlds Within Worlds at Kylemore Abbey in Connemara, Ireland where she was a recipient of the 2022 artist residency.
What is your artistic background/education? How did you first get interested in art?
I first became interested in being a painter when I went to an art museum in high school- the Minneapolis Institute of Art. I was immediately drawn to the images of figures and portraits- Egon Schiele, Rembrandt, Corot. I took my first oil painting class my sophomore year of college and was hooked. I attended Bethany Lutheran College in Minnesota and graduated in 2019 with a degree in studio art. I then went to the New York Academy of Art where I received my MFA in painting in 2021.
What is your inspiration while painting? What are you thinking of and attempting to create?
I’m always inspired by other artists. I look at their work and want to paint and learn more about making art- unlock how they did certain things. My work focuses on the Midwest, I think about rural communities and family dynamics. I sketch, then photograph models based on my sketches, then make a painting based on the sketch and photographs.
I’ve enjoyed painting my family members the most. They are the most relaxed models I can find; they’re not afraid to get frustrated with me or break a pose. I think that helps me catch them in something that explores more about them- where they’re from, what they’re thinking, how they feel about the “spotlight” on them. I like quiet tension between the figures, studying the anatomy, stillness in the atmosphere, and, lately, night scenes and high contrast light.