Sophie Dunlop - Flourish

Current Exhibitions

27 Jan

Written By Issy Le B

Sophie Dunlop

Flourish

7 February – 28 February 2026

Art Atrium 48 is proud to present Flourish, an exhibition of recent paintings by Sophie Dunlop. Since studying floristry in 2022-23, Dunlop has found a new medium through which to express her artistry: the world of flowers. These miracles of nature have taken her down new pathways - amaranthus, gladiolus, pelargonium, dahlia, anemone, narcissus, dianthus and magnolia - each revealing their own distinctive colours, lines, textures, fragrance and message.

Dunlop’s garden has become a fertile ground for her creativity to flourish. Here she composes and arranges her plants, watching them as they grow and change with the hours and seasons. Flowers evoke memories and feelings, allowing us to experience wonder and awe in the natural world. In turn, flowers have reshaped Dunlop’s artistic lens - transforming the way she sees, experiences and paints the world around her.

Guided by her father’s words, “You have to paint what you love!”, and his encouragement to explore new subject matter and learn from art history, Dunlop has incorporated the rich traditions of floristry into her paintings. She has started bringing flowers into her studio to paint, as well as taking still-life objects into her garden to observe them in new settings. Dunlop continues to be inspired by the props that adorn her studio - textiles, glassware, porcelain and seashells. Now, flowers have finally found their way into her paintings, taking on a more prominent role.

Exhibition Opening

Exhibition Opening to be launched by:
Ross Harvey
Sydney-based classical realist painter represented by Australian Galleries

Saturday 7 February 2026
2:00 - 4:00 pm

About the Artist

Sophie Dunlop has painted all her life, owing much of her early training and mentorship to her late father, the artist Brian Dunlop. Best known for her still-life painting, Dunlop also continues to explore the traditions of landscape and figurative art.

Dunlop grew up in Sydney’s Paddington before relocating to South Australia in 2003, where she lives and works full-time as an artist. Her studio is now based on the coastline of the Fleurieu Peninsula. Throughout her childhood, she travelled extensively and learned to paint through close guidance from her father and his circle of peers.

In 1989, Dunlop travelled to Europe and studied at the Lorenzo de’ Medici Art School in Florence. She later completed a Bachelor of Fine Art at the College of Fine Arts, University of New South Wales and studied part-time at the Julian Ashton Art School. Following a student internship at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice, she pursued postgraduate study at the College of Fine Arts, obtaining a Master of Fine Arts degree in 2003.

Dunlop had ten solo exhibitions at Eva Breuer Art Dealer in Sydney prior to joining Art Atrium in 2010, where she has since exhibited a further six solo shows. She has also exhibited in Adelaide at Hill Smith Gallery and Greenhill Gallery. Dunlop has been a finalist in the Portia Geach Memorial Award, Wynne Prize, Redlands Westpac Prize, and the Mosman Art Prize.

She has been a member of the Australian Watercolour Institute since 2007.

ARTWORK

Featured