Biography
As a German transplant to Los Angeles, Sophie Wahlquist’s work combines the dueling sensibilities of a historically rich European lineage of figuration in painting and California’s sun-drenched prism on the natural world. Wahlquist’s paintings depart from a state of mind rather than from a narrative. Playing with different genres of painting and medium, new gestures and perspectives reverse existing ideas. She likes to negotiate the level to which absence can be replaced by clarity of something intangible or how the depiction of something recognizable can become a trigger for imagination.
Selected Artworks
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Sophie WahlquistHold my breath, 2022Oil on Belgian linen43 1/4 x 35 3/8 in
110 x 90 cm
Framed -
Sophie WahlquistIn the garden, 2022Oil on Belgian linen59 5/8 x 74 1/4 in
151.5 x 188.5 cm
Framed -
Sophie WahlquistOur shoes moaned in tandem, 2022Oil on Belgian linen44 1/2 x 35 3/8 in
113 x 90 cm
Framed -
Sophie WahlquistTo more time, 2022Oil on Belgian linen44 1/2 x 35 3/8 in
113 x 90 cm
Framed -
Sophie WahlquistBreathers Vertigo, 2022Oil on canvas43 1/4 x 35 3/8 in
110 x 90 cm
Framed -
Sophie WahlquistMaja, 2022-23Oil on canvas52 3/8 x 59 7/8 in
133 x 152 cm
Framed -
Sophie WahlquistRolling chairs, 2022Oil on canvas43 1/4 x 35 3/8 in
110 x 90 cm
Framed -
Sophie WahlquistKrake, 2022Ceramic, glaze, bulbs, wire and metal chain15 x 32 x 30 in
38.1 x 81.3 x 76.2 cm -
Sophie WahlquistSearch, find, select, grasp, position, assemble , release, wait, 2022Oil on canvas, fabric68 x 61 in
172.7 x 154.9 cm -
Sophie WahlquistSweetmeats, 2021Soft pastel on linen and raw canvas84 x 106 in
213.4 x 269.2 cm -
Sophie WahlquistCaptive Entertainment, 2020Soft pastel on linen and raw canvasOverall (triptych)
56 3/4 x 133 7/8 in
144.1 x 340 cm -
Sophie WahlquistPerch or Fly, 2021Oil, oil stick and soft pastel on canvas62 x 65 in
157.5 x 165.1 cm -
Sophie WahlquistUntitled, 2021Oil, oil stick and soft pastel on canvas59 x 66 in
149.9 x 167.6 cm -
Sophie WahlquistUntitled, 2021Oil, oil stick and soft pastel on canvas62 x 65 1/2 in
157.5 x 166.4 cm -
Sophie WahlquistPath to Paradise 1, 2021Glazed earthenware clay, bulbs, fixtures and wiringHeight: 76 in (193 cm)
Base: 18 in (45.7 cm) - diameter -
Sophie WahlquistPath to Paradise 5, 2021Glazed earthenware clay, bulbs, fixtures and wiringHeight: 81 in (205.7 cm)
Base: 24 in (61 cm) - diameter -
Sophie WahlquistPath to Paradise 3, 2021Glazed earthenware clay, bulbs, fixtures and wiringHeight: 66 in (167.6 cm)
Base: 24 in (61 cm) - diameter -
Sophie WahlquistPath to Paradise 6, 2021Glazed earthenware clay, bulbs, fixtures and wiringHeight: 75 in (190.5 cm)
Base: 15 in (38.1 cm) - diameter -
Sophie WahlquistAlina, 2021Oil on canvasFramed: 54 1/2 x 32 in
138.4 x 81.3 cm -
Sophie WahlquistAnd the Moon Under Her Feet, 2021Oil on canvasFramed: 62 1/4 x 48 1/2 in
158.1 x 123.2 cm -
Sophie WahlquistFruit of Fruits, 2021Soft pastel on canvas62 1/2 x 48 in
158.8 x 121.9 cm -
Sophie WahlquistM.A., 2021Oil on canvas62 1/2 x 49 in
158.8 x 124.5 cm -
Sophie WahlquistLast Night, 2021Oil on canvas9 1/4 x 11 3/4 in
23.5 x 29.8 cm -
Sophie WahlquistM.A. Resting, 2021Oil on canvasFramed: 47 1/2 x 42 1/2 in
120.7 x 108 cm -
Sophie WahlquistMy Child (1), 2021Soft pastel on linenFramed: 38 1/4 x 31 3/4 in
97.2 x 80.6 cm -
Sophie WahlquistMy Child (2), 2021Soft pastel on canvas26 1/2 x 24 in
67.3 x 61 cm
Framed -
Sophie WahlquistSheets 1, 2021Soft pastel on canvasCanvas: 65 3/8 x 47 5/8 in (166 x 121 cm)
Framed: 72 7/8 x 55 1/8 in (185 x 140 cm)
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Sophie WahlquistSheets 2, 2021Soft pastel on canvasCanvas: 63 x 51 1/8 in (160 x 130 cm)
Framed: 72 7/8 x 55 1/8 in (185 x 140 cm) -
Sophie WahlquistUntitled, 2019Soft pastel and ink on paper
Framed: 73 x 55 1/2 in (185.4 x 141 cm)
Paper: 68 1/8x 51 1/8 in (173 x 130 cm) -
Sophie WahlquistUntitled, 2019Soft pastel and ink on paper
Framed: 73 x 55 1/2 in (185.4 x 141 cm)
Paper: 68 1/8x 51 1/8 in (173 x 130 cm) -
Sophie WahlquistUntitled, 2019Soft pastel, ink and spray paint on paperFramed: 55 1/2 x 73 in
141 x 185.4 cm
Paper: 51 1/8 x 68 1/8 in
130 x 173 cm -
Sophie WahlquistForest, 2019Soft pastel on paperFramed: 63 1/4 x 55 3/4 in (160.6 x 141.5 cm)
Paper: 58 1/2 x 51 in (148.6 x 129.5 cm) -
Sophie WahlquistGrowth, coming and going, 2019Soft pastel on paperFramed: 46 3/4 x 40 1/2 in (118.7 x 102.8 cm)
Paper: 42 x 35 3/4 in (106.7 x 90.8 cm) -
Sophie WahlquistUntitled, 2021Glazed earthenware clay9 1/2 x 9 7/8 x 11 1/8 in
24 x 25 x 28 cm -
Sophie WahlquistUntitled, 2021Glazed earthenware clay11 3/4 x 9 7/8 x 10 1/4 in
30 x 25 x 26 cm -
Sophie WahlquistUntitled, 2021Glazed earthenware clay15 3/8 x 9 7/8 x 10 1/4 in
39 x 25 x 26 cm -
Sophie WahlquistUntitled, 2021Glazed earthenware clay10 5/8 x 7 1/8 x 6 1/4 in
27 x 18 x 16 cm -
Sophie WahlquistUntitled, 2021Glazed earthenware clay, light fittings9 1/2 x 10 1/2 in
24.1 x 26.7 cm -
Sophie WahlquistUntitled, 2021Glazed earthenware clay, light fittings8 x 7 3/4 in
20.3 x 19.7 cm
Exhibitions
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ART PARIS 2023
29 Mar - 2 Apr 2023Baert Gallery is pleased to present a duo exhibition by Melinda Braathen and Sophie Wahlquist at Art Paris 2023. Melinda Braathen’s painting seamlessly transitions between elements of skillful figuration and...Read more -
FRIEZE LOS ANGELES 2023
16 - 19 Feb 2023Baert Gallery is pleased to present a solo exhibition of ceramic sculptures by Sophie Wahlquist at Frieze Los Angeles 2023. Sophie Wahlquist’s presentation for Frieze LA imagines Baert Gallery’s Focus...Read more -
Practicalities (La vita materiale)
Curated by Marina Dacci 5 Nov 2022 - 14 Jan 2023Baert Gallery is pleased to present Practicalities, a group exhibition curated by Marina Dacci. The show takes its title from the journal of Marguerite Duras, originally titled La Vie Matérielle and translated into English as Practicalities, which wasfirst published in 1987. The exhibition is the result of a lengthy process of sharing and exchange of ideas by a grouping of women artists. The Los Angeles version will be the third iteration of the exhibition whose prior versions took place at the CENTRALE Center for Contemporary Art in Brussels Belgium (as La Vie Matérielle), and the Palazzo Magnani in Italy (as La vita Materiale). Works and venues have changed, but the spirit animating the project has remained the same. Practicalities is an invitation to look at everyday life through different eyeglasses, accepting its complexity and mystery, using the imagination and the ability to transform matter, to open the body and the mind, to know how to share.Read more -
Sophie Wahlquist
Lace of Love and Bones 29 Jan - 12 Mar 2022One luminary clock against the sky Proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right. I have been one acquainted with the night. — Robert Frost,...Read more -
SUMMER GROUP EXHIBITION
Melinda Braathen, Paolo Colombo, Pam Evelyn, Reuben Gordon, Iliodora Margellos, Francesca Mollett, Jebila Okongwu and Sophie Wahlquist 24 Jul - 18 Sep 2021Baert Gallery is pleased to present a Summer Group Exhibition featuring Melinda Braathen, Paolo Colombo, Pam Evelyn, Reuben Gordon, Iliodora Margellos, Francesca Mollett, Jebila Okongwu and Sophie Wahlquist. This group...Read more -
UNTITLED, ART MIAMI BEACH 2020
30 Nov - 12 Dec 2020On the occasion of UNTITLED, ART Miami Beach OVR 2020, Baert Gallery is pleased to present new works by Melinda Braathen, Reuben Gordon and Sophie Wahquist from November 30 through...Read more -
Works on Paper
Melinda Braathen, Paolo Colombo, Francesca Gabbiani, Reuben Gordon, Dene Leigh, Daniel Silva, Sophie Wahlquist 8 Feb - 28 Mar 2020Baert gallery is pleased to present Works on Paper, a group exhibition featuring Melinda Braathen, Paolo Colombo, Francesca Gabbiani, Reuben Gordon, Dene Leigh, Daniel Silva and Sophie Wahlquist. Encompassing a...Read more
News
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Sophie Wahlquist
Sophie Wahlquist's work is in 'The subject is ceramic' at Leon Benrimon Gallery in Los Angeles May 12, 2023The subject is ceramic April 29 - May 26, 2023 Leon Benrimon Gallery 8478 Melrose Pl Suite E Los Angeles, CA 90069Read more -
Sophie Wahlquist
Sophie Wahlquist is included in Frieze magazine's "10 Emerging Artists to Watch at Frieze Los Angeles" December 20, 2022'This year’s Focus section promises a hotbed of up-and-coming talent, from an ambitious installation of ceramics by Sophie Wahlquist to Edgar Ramirez’s visceral works reflecting...Read more
Press
