About 

Sofia Sierra (b. 2000, St. Louis, MO) is a Philadelphia-based interdisciplinary artist exploring the shifting terrain of memory and fantasy. Drawing from childhood experiences, American cultural rituals, and her recent work with young children, she creates layered sculptural paintings using carved wood, paint, and paper among other materials. Her pieces resemble dreamlike stage sets, playful, strange, and quietly charged, inviting viewers into intimate scenes of celebration, fear, nostalgia, and meditation. Sofia received her BFA in sculpture and painting from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art.




Education

  • BFA, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts(PAFA), Philadelphia, PA – 2024
  • Estelle Rubens Travel Abroad, United Kingdom, France – 2023
  • Écorché Sculpture Summer Workshop, Florence Academy of Art, Florence, Italy – 2022

Awards, Scholarships, Residencies

  • Vermont Studio Center Residency, Vermont Studio Center – 2025
  • Elena and Will Barnet Prize for Abstract Art, PAFA – 2024
  • Hal and Linda Robinson Award for Use of Color in Representative Art, PAFA – 2024
  • Mark Cullinane Memorial Prize in Sculpture Special Notice, PAFA – 2024
  • Janet Fleisher Prize Special Notice, PAFA – 2024
  • Marcia Lampert Prize for a Construction Special Notice, PAFA – 2024
  • Estelle Rubens Travel Scholarship, PAFA – 2023
  • First Place, Stimson Figure Sculpture Competition, PAFA – 2022
  • Undergraduate Full Merit Scholarship, PAFA – 2019

Selected Group Exhibitions

  • Chrome, Box Spring Gallery, Philadelphia, PA - April - May 2025
  • Procession Holiday Show, Procession Gallery, Philadelphia, PA – Dec 2024
  • The Joke, School of Fine Arts Gallery (PAFA), Philadelphia, PA – Nov 2024–Jan 2025
  • The Painter and the City, Procession Gallery, Philadelphia, PA – Nov–Dec 2024
  • The $99 Exhibition: Cabinet Of, Vox Populi Gallery, Philadelphia, PA – Nov–Dec 2024
  • Teaching Artist Showcase, The Arts League, Philadelphia, PA – Aug–Sept 2024
  • Vox Populi XIX!: Annual Juried Show, Vox Populi Gallery, Philadelphia, PA – July 2024
  • Annual Student Exhibition: Thesis Show, PAFA, PA – May–June 2024
  • FMC Exhibition: In Good Light, FMC Tower at Cira Centre South, Philadelphia, PA – Jan–Apr 2024
  • Marionette: Pop Up Exhibition of PAFA Student Sculpture and Video Work, Anne Bryan Gallery, Philadelphia, PA – Nov 2023
  • Anything Goes, Anne Bryan Gallery, Philadelphia, PA – Mar–Apr 2023
  • Sculpture Exhibition, Fisher Brooks Gallery Broad Street Studio, Philadelphia, PA – Oct–Nov 2022
  • Beekman & Mitchell: After Pierre Matisse, Private Residence, Philadelphia, PA – Oct 2022
  • Wood River Heritage Council's Small Works Art Show, Wood River Museum and Visitor Center, Wood River, IL – Oct 2020

Using Format