Sonja Vulpes (real name Sonja Grdina, b. 1986) is a visual artist working in printmaking, drawing and artistic publications. In her work she explores personal narratives and shifting psycho-physical states with a particular focus on self-portraits and the motif of the female figure. She addresses themes of mortality, sexuality, mental health and human emotion with candid honesty, often laced with humour.
Her work has been presented in solo exhibitions Cake at Siva Gallery in Zagreb, HR; Tkalka Gallery in Maribor (2025); and Hiša kulture in Pivka (2024); Limbo at MGLC – International Centre of Graphic Arts in Ljubljana (2021), SI; Bittersweet at Daeppen Gallery in Basel, CH (2018); and Memento mori at Hiša kulture in Pivka, SI (2018), as well as in several group exhibitions in Slovenia and abroad.
In 2022, she was nominated for the Queen Sonja Print Award (Norway).
She lives and works in Lukovec, Slovenia.
Ongoing
Layers, solo exhibition
14 January–15 February 2026
Kosovelov dom Sežana (SI)
Between Portrait and Impression, group exhibition
14 December 2025–8 February 2026
MGLC – International Centre of Graphic Arts, Ljubljana (SI)
Body Resist, group exhibition
12 September 2025–31 January 2026
Likovni salon & Račka Gallery, Celje (SI)
Solo exhibitions
2025 Cake, Siva Gallery, Štampić Festival, Zagreb (HR)
2025 Cake, Tkalka Gallery, Maribor (SI)
2024 Cake, Hiša kulture, Pivka (SI)
2021 Limbo, MGLC – International Centre of Graphic Arts, Ljubljana (SI)
2018 Bittersweet, Daeppen Gallery, Basel (CH)
2018 Memento mori, Hiša kulture, Pivka (SI)
Group exhibitions
2025 ETC. Comfort Zone: Displays of Affection, Mala galerija BS, Ljubljana (SI)
2023 It’s Okay to Cry, UGM – Maribor Art Gallery Maribor, (SI); in the framework of International Photography Festival Organ Vida
2023 Contemporary = Fresh, Nova Gorica City Art Gallery (SI)
2023 HK 25 / The Best Years, Hiša kulture, Pivki (SI)
2023 Contemporary = Fresh, Hambis Municipal Printmaking Museum, Nicosia (CY)
2023 Swallets, ŠKUC Gallery, Ljubljana (SI)
2023 inhale exhale, Nova Gorica City Art Gallery (SI)
2022 Contemporary = Fresh, Franjevački muzej i galerija Gorica – Livno (BiH)
2022 Contemporary = Fresh, 5th International Biennial of Graphics, Čačak (SRB)
2022 inhale exhale, Hiša kulture, Pivka (SI)
2022 Prints and Impressions 2, MGLC – International Centre of Graphic Arts, Ljubljana (SI)
2022 Contemporary = Fresh, Internacionalni umetnički studio Radovan Trnavac Mića, Valjevo (SRB)
2022 Contemporary = Fresh, Gallery of Contemporary Fine Arts Niš / Oficirski dom, Niš (SRB)
2021 PIVKA, 45°40′49.63″N, 14°11′46.98″E, Hiša kulture, Pivka (SI)
2021 Živa grafika, Equrna Gallery, Ljubljana (SI)
2021 Why So Serious?, Knifer Gallery, Osijek (HR)
2020 Prints Squared, Hiša kulture, Pivka (SI)
2020 Allstars arhiv, Kortil Gallery, Rijeka (HR)
2019 Works on Paper, Gallery Daeppen, Basel (CH)
2019 Allstars arhiv, City Museum of Ljubljana (SI)
2019 VII. Independent Biennial, Kino Šiška, Ljubljana (SI)
2019 Avanti Graphic #2, DLUL Gallery, Ljubljana (SI); accompanying programme of the 33th Ljubljana Biennale of Graphic Arts
2018 AIR4, Ravnikar Gallery Space, Ljubljana (SI)
2018 Femicomix + Komikaze #16, Dizajn Distrikt, Zagreb (HR)
2017 Small Town – Great Gallery, Hiša kulture, Pivka (SI)
2016 Veter, Škrlovec Tower, Layer House, Kranj (SI)
2016 Veter, Tir Gallery, Mostovna, Nova Gorica (SI)
Art fairs
2025 viennacontemporary 2025, Vienna (AT), represented by Tkalka Gallery, Maribor (SI)
Artworks in collections
MGLC – International Centre of Graphic Arts, Ljubljana (SI)
Gallery Daeppen, Basel (CH)
Hiša kulture Pivka (SI)
