MARTINETZ

Sophia Süßmilch bewegt sich virtuos zwischen den unterschiedlichen Medien. In ihren Performances und fotografischen Selbstportraits reflektiert sie häufig auf Körpernormierungen und Identitätsmuster, die unsere Fremd- und Eigenwahrnehmung gleichermaßen prägen. Mit viel Humor nimmt sie Kategorien wie Geschlecht, Alter oder Beruf in den Blick und spielt mit Zuschreibungen und Klischees, die darauf rekurrieren. In ihren Gemälden entführt sie die Betrachter oft in Parallelwelten voller merkwürdiger Wesen, die mehr mit uns zu tun haben, als man auf den ersten Blick meinen möchte. Nicht selten sind es die hintersinnigen Titel ihrer Arbeiten, die die grotesken Wesen auf ihren Leinwänden in einen Bezugsrahmen zu unserer Lebensrealität setzen. Sophia Süßmilch skilfully moves between various media. Her performances and photographic self portraits often reflect on bodily norms and identity patterns that shape our perception of others and ourselves in equal measure. She humorously tackles categories such as gender, age or profession and plays with attributions and stereotypes that refer back to them. Her paintings often transport the viewer into parallel worlds full of strange creatures that have more to do with us than one might at first think. It is frequently the cryptic titles of her works that bring the grotesque creatures appearing on her canvases into a frame of reference with the reality of our lives.

Sophia Süßmilch was born in 1983 in Munich where she studied under Stephan Huber at the Academy of Fine Arts from 2006 to 2015. In 2011, she was awarded a research scholarship from the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation in the USA after which she studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna under Ashley Hans Scheirl until 2013. The artist works in the mediums of photography, painting, sculpture and performance, her work is characterised by an intuitive, spontaneous approach, emotional immediacy, and is dedicated to fundamental questions of life and society, drawing on biographical references. Her work has been shown in numerous national and international group and solo exhibitions, 2018 at Belvedere 21 in Vienna, 2020 at Neue Galerie Graz and Kunstpalast Düsseldorf, June 2021 at Ludwig Forum Aachen and upcoming in 2023 at Francisco Carolinum in Linz. In 2018 she was awarded the Bayerischer Kunstförderpreis and in 2020 the Förderpreis für Bildende Kunst der Landeshauptstadt München. Sophia Süßmilch lives and works in Berlin, Munich and Vienna.

Established in 2015, MARTINETZ is dedicated to the long-term development and presentation of contemporary positions. The Gallery represents international artists from Germany, Greece, Luxembourg and Austria, namely Christian Eisenberger, Selma Gültoprak, Albert Mayr, Thomas Palme, Panos Papadopoulos, Mary-Audrey Ramirez, Evamaria Schaller and Sophia Süßmilch. Additional guest artists are invited for specific exhibition projects, such as Valie Export or Thomas Zipp. In addition to painting, photography, sculpture, video art and (sound) installations, ephemeral art forms such as performance art and land art form an integral part of the gallery’s programme. A strong focus lies in questions concerning the interrelationship of humans, nature, society and technology in the present day. Up to six exhibitions are realised annually, in part through cooperations with external curators and are accompanied by additional educational programmes such as artist talks and guided tours.