German-born artist Sonja Kuhfahl began her art career studying fashion in Europe, and after raising a family in the USA, has been exploring painting and collage for more than 35 years. Building upon her free and loose style in watercolor, which she developed with Nicholas Reale, Sonja was inspired to explore acrylics as a member of Edward Betts’ master class workshop in Maine in the 1980s. She continued her studies with other nationally recognized artists.

Having traveled extensively throughout Europe and the United States, Sonja’s inspiration comes from memories of places she has seen, walked, and experienced, as well as from her imagination. Her personal style evolved over many years as she worked and experimented in her studio. Sonja’s mixed media paintings are executed with elegant refinement. Building layer upon layer, color upon color, she manipulates surfaces through various means, thereby creating texture and mystery. The interplay of transparent and opaque passages, glazes, and impasto yield a body of complex surfaces and texture.

Sonja Kuhfahl’s work has appeared in more than 120 juried and invitational exhibitions and 18 one-person shows. She has garnered more than 50 awards in addition to those listed below, and is a Signature Member of the National Collage Society, Lorillard Wolf Art Club, and the National Society of Painters in Casein and Acrylic. She maintains a studio in Bernardsville, New Jersey.

Sonja’s collages are included in the book Collage in ALL Dimensions by Gretchen Bierbaum & Petrina Gardner (2005), which features the top collage artists in the United States. Her collages were also used on the movie set of Night Walk starring Lesley-Ann Down and Robert Urich (1989).