ARTIST PROFILE

Zsofia Schweger

  • Hungary (b. 1989 in Szeged)
  • Currently in London, United Kingdom.
  • Zsofia Schweger is a Hungarian artist who is based in London. She studied painting at Wellesley College (USA) and the Slade School of Fine Art (UK).

REPRESENTATION

CONTACT & LINKS

ARTIST INFO

ARTIST STATEMENT

My work in painting is informed by my experience of moving countries: I am interested in human relationships to spaces in general and the notions of home and belonging in particular.

In my paintings of domestic and public interiors, I use reductive paint application and flat blocks of colour to express a sense of both alienation and comfort. My compositions are devoid of people, which at first glance might seem impersonal; still, I aim to suggest a sense of intimacy through a muted and potentially seductive colour palette. This methodical approach to formal elements lets up through touch: my hand trembles where colour blocks meet, forming gently wavering lines throughout the paintings and thus establishing a human presence in them. I want always to make paintings that are affecting and alive.


BIOGRAPHY

Zsófia Schwéger (b. 1989, Szeged) is a Hungarian artist currently based in London. Following her upbringing in Szeged and Budapest in Hungary, Zsófia lived in the United States for 5 years and studied at Wellesley College in the Boston area. She moved to London in 2013 and attended the Slade School of Fine Art, graduating with an MA in 2015.

Zsófia was selected for Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2016 and Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe 2017. She has been supported by several generous prizes, including the Jealous Prize, Griffin Art Prize, the Alice C. Cole Award, and the ‘One To Watch’ Award. Her selected group shows include New Contemporaries at the ICA and the Bluecoat, the Esterhazy Art Award shortlist exhibition at Hungary’s Ludwig Museum, and the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition.

Since her first solo exhibition at Griffin Gallery in London in 2016, she has had solo shows at Edel Assanti (London), Sapar Contemporary (New York), Lundgren Gallery (Palma), and Inda Gallery (Budapest).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

  • 250th Summer Exhibition Illustrated, exhibition catalogue - Royal Academy of Arts, London, UK
  • BLOC, exhibition catalogue - Griffin Gallery, London, UK
  • Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2016, exhibition catalogue - Cornerhouse Publications, Manchester, UK
  • FBA Futures 2016, exhibition catalogue - Mall Galleries, Federation of British Artists, London, UK

PRESS

  • artPortal - "Északi fény. Fiatal magyarok kiállítása Dundee-ban" by Nagy Gergely
  • Socks - “Spaces Left Behind: Paintings by Zsofia Schweger” by Mariabruna Fabrizi
  • Hyperallergic - “The Pregnant Silence Pervading Paintings of Libraries” by Seph Rodney
  • The Tribeca Trib - “Paintings to Quiet the Visual Noise of Urban Life’ by April Koral
  • Artmagazin.hu - "Focus on Hungary - Magyar galériák sikere a viennacontemporaryn" by Mucsi Emese (in Hungarian)
  • Artlocator - "Az idő alapú képélmény nyomában" by Untsch Kata (in Hungarian)
  • Junko Journal - "Painters in conversation: Zsofia Schweger talks to Agalé Bassens about ideas of home and identity in her recent work"
  • Artnet - “Editors’ Picks: 15 Things to See in New York This Week“ by Sarah Cascone
  • OCTOGON architecture & design magazin - “Glocal“
  • Forbes Magyarország - "A nagy 30/30" by Nagy Zsolt (in Hungarian)
  • Artists & Illustrators - “Ones To Watch” by Natalie Milner
  • Forbes - “Meet Europe’s 30 Under 30 Taking Over Kitchens, Galleries And Runways” by Nathania Zevi
  • 42 magazin - “Život emigranta – Zsofia Schweger” (in Serbian)
  • AnOther - “Documenting the Emigré Experience Through Pastel Interiors” by Sarah Jilani
  • artPortal - „Ez a ház még mindig megvan” – Schwéger Zsófia, festő by Fruzsina Mesterházy (in Hungarian)
  • The Big Issue - “BLOC, Zsofia Schweger, Griffin Gallery - Review” by Louise Fitzjohn
  • Art Monthly - “Review: Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2016” by Martin Herbert
  • Financial Times - “Critics’ Choice” by Jackie Wullschlager
  • The Week UK - “Zsofia Schweger at Griffin Gallery” 
  • Wallpaper* - “Bloc party: Zsofia Schweger’s minimal paintings of Hungarian domestic interiors” by Jessica Klingelfuss
  • AIGA: Eye On Design - “Graphic Sensibilities with Politicized Undertones in Zsofia Schweger’s Unusual Image-making” by Emily Gosling
  • White Noise - “The city that changes you” by Liz Ann Bennett
  • BBC World Service - Radio interview in Outlook by Jo Fidgen
  • Stylist - “Meet the young Hungarian artist exploring the modern emigrant experience” by Moya Crockett
  • It’s Nice That - Zsofia Schweger’s paintings depict her Hungarian home frozen in time by Jenny Brewer
  • Art Jobs - Redefining the domestic space in her debut exhibition at the Griffin Gallery: Interview with Zsofia Schweger