Canadian artist Kevin Sonmor is known for his rich and darkly atmospheric figurative works and still-life paintings.
Born in 1959 in Lacombe, Alberta, Sonmor attended the Alberta College of Art and Design (now Alberta University of the Arts), where he studied art from 1983 to 1988. In 1986, he enrolled in the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity’s summer studio program. Then, in 1988, Sonmor moved to Montreal, where he studied at Concordia University, graduating with an MFA in 1991.
As a student, Sonmor was drawn to the delineation of forms and naturalistic proportions associated with Flemish painting. The influence of painters who worked in this realist style, coupled with Sonmar’s use of intense color and elements of turbulent Romanticism, is seen in such abstract paintings as Vanitas Relief (2019), 100 Portraits: The Home Guard (2019) and Location (2019).
Throughout his career, Sonmor has exhibited his paintings in museums and galleries across the United States, Canada and Europe. His first solo exhibition was held in 1988 at the Truck Contemporary Art Gallery in Calgary, followed by subsequent solo exhibitions at the Modern Fuel Artist-Run Centre in Kingston, Ontario and the Centre des arts actuels Skol in Montreal from 1990 to 1991.
Sonmor garnered extensive recognition in Canada following a retrospective of his work in 2002 to 2003 at the Mendel Art Gallery (now Remai Modern) in Saskatoon, the Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba, the Robert McLaughlin Gallery in Oshawa, Ontario and a solo exhibition in 2004 at the Art Gallery of Mississauga. During the 2010s, Sonmor exhibited with several fellow Canadian artists, including James Lahey, Ed Bartram and France Jodoin.
On 1stDibs, discover a range of Kevin Sonmor paintings.
Vanitas Relief
By Kevin Sonmor
Located in Montreal, Quebec
Kevin Sonmor’s heroic, post-apocalyptic paintings […] reference dark brooding abstract landscapes animated with tight, intensely coloured, realistically ordered still-lifes. Hints of...
Linen, Oil
The Boys are Back
By Kevin Sonmor
Located in Montreal, Quebec
Kevin Sonmor’s heroic, post-apocalyptic paintings […] reference dark brooding abstract landscapes animated with tight, intensely coloured, realistically ordered still-lifes. Hints of...
Linen, Oil
Agriculture Vanitas
By Kevin Sonmor
Located in Montreal, Quebec
Kevin Sonmor’s heroic, post-apocalyptic paintings […] reference dark brooding abstract landscapes animated with tight, intensely coloured, realistically ordered still-lifes. Hints of...
Linen, Oil
Untitled # 13
By A.J. Fries
Located in Buffalo, NY
A contemporary oil painting on linen by American artist A.J. Fries. Artist’s Statement: These works are an extension of a small series of realistic paintings that I did of graves...
Linen, Oil
$16,359
H 51.19 in W 78.75 in D 1.97 in
Large Expressionist figurative Oil Painting "The Dancer"
By André François van Vuuren
Located in Cape Town, ZA
This large scale oil painting on Belgian linen canvas depicts our perceived inner feelings of the people and situations we encounter through the use of bold shapes and colours. The c...
Linen, Oil
Untitled #17
By A.J. Fries
Located in Buffalo, NY
A contemporary oil painting on linen by American artist A.J. Fries. Artist’s Statement: These works are an extension of a small series of realistic paintings that I did of graves...
Linen, Oil
$1,200
H 16 in W 14 in
'Purple Tulips' - still life - floral, botanical, naturalism, white background
By Christina Renfer Vogel
Located in Atlanta, GA
This painting features hues of purple, green and white. Chattanooga-based artist Christina Renfer Vogel’s “Turning Towards the Sun” features paintings that reflect an intentional tu...
Oil, Linen
Untitled # 3
By A.J. Fries
Located in Buffalo, NY
A contemporary oil painting on linen by American artist A.J. Fries. Artist’s Statement: These works are an extension of a small series of realistic paintings that I did of graves...
Linen, Oil
$17,528
H 51.19 in W 70.87 in D 1.19 in
Large Expressionist Figurative Oil Painting "Mythical Figures"
By André François van Vuuren
Located in Cape Town, ZA
This oil painting on Belgian linen canvas with vivid colours depicts people and situations with whom the artist have had contact. Whilst the works are not strictly speaking, portrait...
Linen, Oil
$18,000
H 66 in W 83 in D 1.5 in
Juniper - Luminous Oil on Linen, Contemporary Abstract, 21st Century
By Frédéric Choisel
Located in Burlingame, CA
Juniper — luminous oil on linen. Dimensions are 66 x 83 inches. French American Frédéric Choisel, is inspired by the cities and countrysides of France, New York, and California's B...
Linen, Oil
$45,000
H 74 in W 67 in
"Pompeian Perfumer" Grace Hartigan, Roman Subject, Abstract Expressionist Artist
By Grace Hartigan
Located in New York, NY
Grace Hartigan Pompeian Perfumer, 1999 Signed and dated lower right; signed, titled, and dated on the reverse Oil on linen 72 x 66 inches Grace Hartigan’s career began among the Ne...
Canvas, Linen, Oil
Untitled # 7
By A.J. Fries
Located in Buffalo, NY
A contemporary oil painting on linen by American artist A.J. Fries. Artist’s Statement: These works are an extension of a small series of realistic paintings that I did of graves...
Linen, Oil
$4,800
H 12 in W 16 in D 2 in
"Pink Flowers" Abstract Expressionist painting, Oil & Resin, 16 x 20inch Framed
By Darius Yektai
Located in Sag Harbor, NY
A rare small painting from contemporary Abstract Expressionist, Darius Yektai. Although titled "pink flowers" the hue of the painting is really more peach, or a light orange. A patte...
Canvas, Linen, Resin, Epoxy Resin, Raw Linen, Oil
$17,528
H 51.19 in W 70.87 in D 1.19 in
Large Colourful Expressionist Figurative Oil Painting "Three Men And A Woman"
By André François van Vuuren
Located in Cape Town, ZA
This oil painting on stretched Belgian linen canvas with vivid colours depicts people and situations with whom the artist have had contact. Whilst the works are not strictly speaking...
Linen, Oil
20 x 18" Oil on Linen
By Alexis Portilla
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This is a beautiful Oil on Linen painting by Alexis Portilla, unframed. 20 x 18 in. Oil on Linen Unframed Framing available May be paired with others as illustrated. The artist Al...
Linen, Oil
Green Rainmaker Study
By Kevin Sonmor
Located in Montreal, Quebec
Kevin Sonmor’s heroic, post-apocalyptic paintings […] reference dark brooding abstract landscapes animated with tight, intensely coloured, realistically ordered still-lifes. Hints of...
Linen, Oil
Sold
H 48 in W 60 in
One-Hundred and Fifty Portraits (The Baptist) - Race Horse in Umber and Crimson
By Kevin Sonmor
Located in Bloomfield, ON
A horse in mid-jump is rendered in rich umber and crimson and set almost in silhouette against a pale ground. In this powerful portrait of the race horse The Baptist artist Kevin Sonmor uses a neo-romantic vocabulary of atmospheric space and dramatic chiaroscuro. An MFA graduate of Concordia University and former Calgarian, Kevin Sonmor now lives and works in Montreal. He was born in Lacombe, Alberta in 1959. Sonmor reuses the artistic vocabulary reminiscent of Dutch 17th Still Life...
Linen, Oil
The Poet of Sweetgrass
By Kevin Sonmor
Located in Bloomfield, ON
The intensity and scale of this magnificent painting of a horse by artist Kevin Sonmor is rendered on three large canvases that come together to create this beautiful 19th century inspired work. Fragments of text are visible within the panels. The central long rifle evokes the image of sacrifice; the butt of a pistol emerges from the canvas on the left; the horse has a look of tired resignation, yet continues to stand with dignity. The blood red color of the fruit in the lower right panel are in sharp contrast to the more textured and somber tones of the rest of the work. An MFA graduate of Concordia University and former resident of Calgary, Kevin Sonmor has been living and working in Montreal for the past twelve years. Sonmor was born in Lacombe, Alberta in 1959. Sonmor reuses the artistic vocabulary reminiscent of Dutch 17th Still Life...
Linen, Oil