Sophia Rosenthal

Sophia Rosenthal is a painter exploring the complexities of memory in relation to identity, migration, and belonging. Drawing from personal photographs, her work engages with the affects of both photography and painting - where image and gesture dissolve into something layered, unstable, and open to re-reading. Born in South Korea, raised in the Philippines, and now based in London, her diasporic background shapes her practice. Working slowly and reflectively, she embraces the delays and disruptions within painting as a space to hold both intimacy and estrangement. Sophia was awarded a two-month residency at Standpoint Gallery following her MA at City & Guilds of London Art School, culminating in her first London solo show in spring 2025. She was shortlisted for the Contemporary British Painting Prize 2024 and won both the Blyth Gallery Award, and the inaugural Judith Tucker Memorial Prize, selected by Lubaina Himid, Griselda Pollock, and Harriet Tarlo. Selected exhibitions include Where is Motherland? (Tate St Ives, 2018); Earthly Bodies (The Cornish Bank, 2021); Entranced Essence (RuptureXibit, 2024); Sprung24 (Prema Arts Centre, 2024); Art Lark (ESPS, 2024); For Something, For Someone (Katie Lindsay Gallery, 2025). She was also artist-in-residence at Porthmeor Studios, St Ives (2018).

Lambeth, London

Upcoming Exhibitions:

• 2026 — Katie Lindsay Gallery (2026), Blyth Gallery (2026)

Past Exhibitions:

• 2025 — For Something, For Someone, Katy Lindsay Gallery, Northern Ireland
• 2025 — Brieze, Camden Open Air Gallery x The Koppel Project, London
• 2025 — The Muse Gallery Residency Competition Shortlist Show, London
• 2025 — Golden Hour, Standpoint, London
• 2024 — Contemporary British Painting Prize, Yorkshire Artspace, Sheffield
• 2024 — Contemporary British Painting Prize, Thames-Side Studios Gallery, London
• 2024 — Contemporary British Painting Prize, BayArt, Cardiff
• 2024 — ING Discerning Eye Exhibition, Mall Galleries, London
• 2024 — MA Fine Art Show, City & Guilds of London Art School, London
• 2024 — Art Lark, Group Show, Electro Studios Project Space, St Leonards-on-Sea (group)
• 2024 — Sprung 24, Group Show, Prema Arts Centre, Uley, Dursley
• 2024 — Entranced Essence, Group Show, RuptureXIBIT, London
• 2023 — Crypt Collective, St Luke's Church, Earl's Court, London
• 2023 — Residency Presentation, The Museum of Loss and Renewal, Italy

Education:

• 2024 — MA Fine Art, City & Guilds London Art School
• 2019 — BA (Hons) Fine Art, Falmouth School of Art
• 2018 — Painting: Atelier F, Erasmus, The Academy of Fine Arts in Venice

Residencies:

• 2025 — Standpoint Artist Residency Prize, London
• 2023 — Prendendo Tempo Residency, Museum of Loss and Renewal, Italy
• 2018 — Porthmeor Studios Artist Residency, St Ives
• 2018 — Erasmus Grant for International Studies, The Academy of Fine Arts Venice, Italy

Awards:

• 2024 — The Judith Tucker Memorial Prize
• 2024 — The Blyth Gallery Award
• 2020 — Midas Award, Newlyn Art Gallery & The Exchange (postponed to COVID)

Publications:

• 2025 — The Judith Tucker Memorial Prize, by Dr Narbi Price, Griselda Pollock
• 2025 — Golden Hour, a review by Mark Tweedie
• 2025 — Golden Hour Press Release, Standpoint
• 2024 — The Contemporary British Painting Prize, by Jessica Piette on Corridor 8
• 2024 — Contemporary British Painting Prize Catalogue & Essay