Sophie Capron - Conversations in Paint
We're delighted to welcome Sophie Capron to the gallery this summer.
The artists vibrant, bright a gestural paintings are an ideal addition to our rosta in the busy, beautiful days of August. At their heart are conversations about the natural world and environment, highlighted by the use of re-cycled left over paints and canvases.
Capron says about her work:
"My paintings are a discourse on the tenuous relationship between man and nature. This is established by the sgraffito marks of urban decay that inspire me and the recycled paints that I reuse within my pieces.
I feel privileged to reuse donated paint that others once chose for their homes and workspaces. In acknowledging the historical journey that each paint has taken, I celebrate the choice another person has made and breathe new life into it through the layers of my own work. It is these personal connections that underpin my work and make it poignant and purposeful to me. This paint is not simply discarded and forgotten but repurposed into something new.
I have always been fascinated with how nature and time encroaches on all that is man-made. The idea that over the passage of time a flawless wall or immaculate façade will show the marks of environmental decay and how modern development has the potential to erode the history of a place has an influence on my work. When the layers in the brickwork are exposed there is always the evidence of the past, no matter how untouched the present is.
Over time, the walls we build will be scraped and marked with the conversations of life’s passing and the growth and erosion of nature’s reclamation. It is this bittersweet beauty that I explore."
About The Artist:
Sophie Capron b1982, studied at Winchester School of Art, where she pursued a BA Hons in Textile Art. During her degree, she embarked on a transformative period of study in Japan – an experience that infused her work with cultural nuances along with a residency with Picture Berlin.
She has exhibited internationally in France, Belgium, Germany, Texas, Boston and New York. Since 2019 she has had four major exhibitions at Artwave West at her home in Cornwall.
Beyond her studio, she has been an active member of Cornwall’s artistic community. In 2022 she joined the Newlyn Society of Artists and is currently a committee member, helping to organise biannual exhibitions at Tremenheere sculpture gardens.
Sophie was awarded the Create Award at the DRIFT Journal Awards in October 2025 and her work sits in a collection alongside artists such as Patrick Heron, Terry Frost, Sandra Blow and Peter Lanyon amongst others.