BIO
Sophia Frese, born into a family of seven, received an arts-centered education before earning a master’s in German Literature and American Studies. She completed her PhD at the John F. Kennedy Institute of the Free University of Berlin, with research at Columbia, Duke, and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. After two years of teaching and research at the Free University, she shifted to full-time art practice, coinciding with her move to the United States. Now based in Berlin, Frese has exhibited widely in Germany and Mexico City, with her work held in private collections across the US and Europe. Her large-scale abstractions explore the dialectics of genesis and dissolution, entailing a process she describes as terraforming. Her work draws deeply from music, literature, and science, an interdisciplinary approach rooted in her scholarly training.
W O R K
Sophia Frese works at the spectrum between abstraction and figuration, creating paintings that act as psychographic terrains—maps of emotion, memory, and imagined landscapes. Influenced by the structures of music and the narrative pull of literature, her works unfold with rhythm and tactile intensity.
Using raw pigments, her bare hands, and unorthodox tools, Frese approaches the canvas as a membrane—porous and charged—between the visible world and another, quieter one that always seems to press near. Her gestures leave behind traces that feel both deliberate and intuitive, accumulating like sediment or language.
In her sought-after works, this sense of proximity—to an elsewhere just beyond articulation—draws the viewer into a space where vision becomes sensation, and the canvas holds open the possibility of transformation.
Sophia Frese is a visionary artist with a passion for creating captivating visual experiences. Through her art, she aims to evoke emotions, provoke thoughts, and inspire creativity. Her work reflects a deep exploration of self-expression and the interplay of color, form, and texture. Each piece is a unique narrative, inviting the viewer into a world of imagination and contemplation.
As an artist, Sophia Frese offers a diverse range of services, from commissioned artwork for private collectors to collaborative projects with galleries and art institutions. Her expertise extends to 3D design, motion graphics, art direction, animation, and branding identity, allowing her to bring a multi-dimensional perspective to every creative endeavor.