Sophia Chai | Minneapolis College of Art and Design

Sophia Chai

Image
Portrait of Sophia Chai.

  • Faculty
  • MFA Mentor

Education
BA, University of Chicago
MFA, University of Illinois at Chicago

Sophia Chai is a Korean-American artist whose work pushes the limits of photography by tracing its origins as a natural phenomenon of light and space while simultaneously pushing it forward into its most elusive, hard-to-read forms. Working within the rectangular room of her studio using readily available materials (masking tape, graphite, and paint), Chai creates abstract compositions that mimic a minimalist geometric drawing or painting. Only upon closer inspection do the shadows of the three-dimensional space emerge, revealing a trickster illusion born of simple means. Her recent work revisits her childhood experience of learning Hangul, the Korean phonetic alphabet, and enacts three key ideas: language, optics, and photography.

Chai has presented her work widely at sites including Luhring Augustine Gallery, A.I.R. Gallery, the Bronx Museum of the Arts, Knockdown Center, Marinaro Gallery, Tiger Strikes Asteroid, and Hyde Park Art Center, among many others. Solo exhibitions include 106 Green Gallery in Brooklyn, NY (2016), Rochester Art Center in Minnesota (2020), Hair+Nails Gallery in Minneapolis (2020, 2023) and Light Work in Syracuse, NY (2024). This fall, Chai will open her third solo exhibition with Hair+Nails Gallery NYC, as well as a group exhibition at Klaus Gallery, also in NYC. Chai is a recipient of the 2024/25 McKnight Visual Artist Fellowship. Chai has received generous support from the Jerome Foundation (2019-2020), Minnesota State Arts Board (2020, 2022, 2023, 2025), Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council (2019), and The First Ten (2024-25), an arts program devoted to mid-career artists who are mothers. Recent press includes Artforum, MUSEÉ Magazine, and Document Journal. The City of Rochester and Destination Medical Center commissioned her first permanent public outdoor project, completed in 2024. Chai earned a BA in chemistry from the University of Chicago and an MFA from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is represented by Hair+Nails Gallery (Minneapolis, NYC) and is based in Rochester, MN.

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