BIOGRAPHY

Sophie Aghajanian (b. 1943) in Haifa, (of Armenian heritage), is a painter and printmaker, who was educated in Cyprus until she moved to London in 1962 to study painting at Ravensbourne College of Art & Design, followed by a post graduate year in printmaking at Brighton College of Art (1966-1967). She moved to Belfast in 1977 where she still lives and works.

In her work, Aghajanian tends to focus on reflections, and the difference between light and dark, which has an effect on the subject and turns it into a new formation.

In 1987, Aghajanian was elected an RUA Academician and throughout the years she has exhibited in places such as the Curwen Gallery, the RUA, Listowel Graphics and the Tom Caldwell Gallery.

Commissions include the National Self-Portrait Collection of Ireland. Invited contributor to the ‘Great Book of Ireland’. Invited artist for the ‘Holy Show’ and ‘Garden of Earthly Delights’ exhibitions, both curated jointly by the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin and the Graphic Studio Gallery, Dublin in 2002 and 2005.

Her work can be found in numerous collections nationally and internationally, including Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Bank of Ireland, Dublin, AIB, Dublin, Bank Nationale de Paris, Wexford County Council, Ulster Museum, Belfast, Musée Les Abattoirs, Toulouse, France, MBNA Bank, Dublin, Merrill Lynch, Dublin, Office of Public Works, Dublin, DOE, Belfast, Dublin City University, as well as numerous private collections.