MUNTHE ART MONDAY: KIAMA SOPHIA

Please introduce yourself and tell us about what you do.

I’m an Australian artist currently based in Brussels, Belgium. I paint still lifes with a modern twist.

Kiama is wearing Shimo jeans and Luxa top.

Can you name some other female (artist) that inspires you and explain why they do so?

Chloe Wise, Genesis Belanger and Kelly Sinnapah Mary are 3 female artists that inspire me for the way they address important issues. Their work is meaningful but with a fun and sometimes cheeky approach.

Could you explain more about how being a woman has affected your career?

Being a woman has definitely shaped how I approach painting. Still life, and especially food, has long been linked with ideas of domesticity and “women’s work,” so there’s a layered history in choosing it as my subject. I like leaning into that tradition but giving it a contemporary twist, playing with color, scale, and perspectives in ways that push the subject beyond its old associations.

I’ve also felt the need at times to work harder for my paintings to be taken seriously, which I think is a challenge many women artists have faced. But that’s also part of why I love working with food. It lets me take something ordinary, something historically tied to the feminine, and reframe it as playful and lighthearted.

What would you like people to notice in your artwork?

The feelings and memories they evoke, good and bad. My paintings are often perceived as child-like and simple at first glance but I think the closer you look the more you can start to see the layers beneath and the intentionality of everything I choose to paint.

Kiama is wearing Shimo jeans.

Kiama is wearing Shimo jeans and Luxa top.

What has been the most challenging aspect of being a woman in the arts?

Probably making sure my work is taken seriously on its own, beyond assumptions about being a woman and what I might be expected to paint. I think social media also brings it’s own challenges too. It’s a great tool for getting your work out there but it can also make it feel like everything is judged by trends or popularity rather than the meaning or depth of the work. I struggle with that a lot actually.

And on a personal level, it’s been about trusting my intuition and carving my own path as an artist. That means making mistakes (a lot), learning from them, and unlearning the pressures society places on women, femininity, and beauty. Figuring out my own voice has been just as important as navigating the external challenges, and it’s shaped not only the way I create but also how I see myself in the art world.

Kiama is wearing Shimo jeans.