On Thursday, December 5th, we visited the studio of Sonya Berry

79 Joyce Street, Warren

Feedback from #meettheartist guests:

“I am Jordan, I am 13. I aspire to have the skills that you have when you paint. I’m blown away by your grasp of layers. You layer so many colors and specks or marks show through. Every inch of your work is somehow its own painting. I’m your biggest fan.”

“Sonya, Your work is Powerful, Vulnerable, Amazing!”

“Goose bumps thru out my body. Thank you.” Cindy Manchester

“Sonya, Your studio and multi-media works are inspiring! The sheer size of your acrylic paintings is marvelous! Loved the videos.”

“Incredibly powerful work – have never seen anything like this.”

“This artwork is phenomenal! I can fully understand why showing it overwhelms you.”

“It belongs in NYC.” Mary Benton

“Sonya, I think that your art work is amazing! They really pop out and the scale of some of them are extremely large and I think that is great! My name is Joey and I’m 12.”

“Sonya, this is the first time to view your large scale paintings en masse. I am drawn in, linger to experience the mood and emotions, wanting to know more.”

“I was drawn to Sonya’s large canvas paintings- especially the blurred face ion the back room. Beautifully intense. Thank you for sharing your art with us.”

“Amazing! Fantastic! It’s rare to see art this large and so expressive! Thank you.”

“What a remarkable artist you are. Thank you for inviting us into the intimate space of your creative world. I hope we all left good & positive energy in our wake.” Aubrey

“Your work left me wanting to know more – more about the ideas behind your expressions – the images are interesting and surprising.”

“This was a very interesting experience seeing all these art pieces with their scale. The video really felt like emotions I can’t even put in words.Your color palette was really well paired with the art. Overall your art created a look towards art for me.”

“The video was fascinating, Sonya. I watched it 3 times, trying to understand the sequencing, nice composition. I also really liked the pieces in the back. Good work!”

“As I write I am in with your large paintings. I love the drama! Do you stretch them so they lie flat on the wall or is the curvature of the canvas on the floor an intention?” Martha

Sonya works predominantly in the medium of large-scale acrylic paintings. Her art has been exhibited in art fairs, solo and group shows in New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Arizona. After completing a BFA at Pratt Institute in New York, she remained in the city to purse her career as a studio artist. She has taught art at undergraduate and high school levels.

Currently living in Portsmouth, R.I., and putting her MFA on hold, Sonya is focused on the exploration of video, sound, performance and land art to accompany her painting practice. Her multimedia projects, examines our path through life with the constant motion that we create for ourselves. Inquiring into the ubiquitous relationship between innate impulsive yearnings and the desire and urges to escape and to explore the concepts of pain, setbacks, and unprocessed life
experiences.

CONTACT SONYA