Sophia Vari was born in Greece in 1940 to a Greek father and Hungarian mother.

Currently living and working in Monaco, Italy and Greece, She is married to the Colombian artist called Fernando Botero.

Vari has studied and lived overseas for many years. Even though the artist has spent time in Great Britain, Paris is where she became acquainted to movements in modern sculpture, namely cubism and surrealism.

Sophia Vari started to paint at age sixteen, but she felt the need to express herself through another medium in 1976. During a trip to Egypt in 1978, she began to understand the importance of monumental sculpture. Since then, she has spent fifteen years working with bronze and marble. Vari’s sculptural works are celebrated through exhibitions at the Athens City Hall in Greece and at Pietrasanta in Italy.

In order to rekindle the joy of working with color, she turned towards the creation of assemblages on canvas, in which she “does not create with the volume but with the color, keeping the sculptural consciousness of the form”. The fusion of such two artistic practices allows the artist to appropriate color on different surfaces and to adapt it to different tonalities.

Sophia Vari is equally known internationally for her jewelry, detachable sculptures and her drawings.

The artist’s talent has produced works filled with sensuality, dynamism and intelligence. Vari has exhibited at la Piazza Esedra in Italy, at Saint-Germain-des-Prés in Paris and in the gardens of la Piazza del Casino in Monte-Carlo.

SOLO SHOWS

1969 Woodstock Gallery, London - UK
         Schmacher, Munich - Germany
1974 Espace Cardin, Paris - France

         Mayor's Parlor of Gallier Hall, New Orleans, Lousiana - USA
         Jasper Gallery, Houston, Texas - USA 

1975 Museu de Arte Moderna, Sao Paulo - Brazil
1976 Coe Kerr Gallery, New York City - USA 

1978-1979 Galerie Desmos, Alexandre Iolas, Athens - Greece
                  Fundaçao Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon - Portugal
1981 Fondation Veranneman, Kruishoutem - Belgium
        Aberbach Fine Art Gallery, New York City - USA
1983 Galeria Juana Mordo, Madrid - Spain
1984 Fondation Veranneman, Kruishoutem
1985 Nohra Haime Gallery, New York - USA
1986 Galerie d'Eendt, Amsterdam - Netherlands
         Galerie d'Athènes, Athens - Greece
1987 Galeria Alfred Wild, Bogota - Colombia
         Galerie Eolia, Paris - France 

         Galerie Eolia, Paris - France 

         Galeria Thaeco, Cali - Colombia
1988 Fondation Veranneman, Kruishoutem - Belgium 

         Nohra Haime Gallery, New York City - USA 

         Galleria d'Arte Il Gabbiano, Rome - Italy
1989 Galerie d'Athènes, Athens - Greece
1990 Galerie Eolia, Paris - France
1991 Museo de Arte Contemporaneo, Caracas - Venezuela
         Nohra Haime Gallery, New York City - USA
1992 Galleria d'Arte Il Gabbiano, Rome - Italy 

          Sala Gaspar Galeria d'Art, Barcelona - Spain
1994 Galleria d'Arte Il Gabbiano, Rome - Italy 

         Nohra Haime Gallery, New York City - USA
1995 Fondation Veranneman, Kruishoutem - Belgium
         
Nohra Haime Gallery, New York City - USA
1996 "Salon de Mars", Nohra Haime Gallery, "Sculptures et Assemblages sur Toile", Paris - France
1997 Butler Art Institute, retrospective show, Youngstown, Ohio - USA
         Nohra Haime Gallery, "Assemblages on Canvas", New York City - USA


         Galerie Frank Pages, "Sculptures and Assemblages on Canvas", Baden-Baden - Germany
         Studio d'Arte La Subbia, "Sculptures and Assemblages on Canvas", Pietrasanta - Italy
         Galerie Naïla de Monbrison, "Jewels", Paris - France

1998 "The Art Show", Nohra Haime Gallery, "Sophia Vari : Monumental Sculptures", Seventh Regiment Armory, New York City -USA
         Nohra Haime Gallery, "Polychrome Sculptures", New York City - USA 
         Ulrich Art Museum, Wichita, Kansas - USA
         Galleria Terzo Millennio, "Jewels", Milan - Italy
1999 Arij Gasiumasen Gallery, "Polychrome Sculptures", Palm Beach - USA
         Galerie Pièce Unique, Paris - France
         École des Beaux-Arts, Galerie Pièce Unique, Paris - France
2000 Nohra Haime Gallery, New York City - USA
         City Hall of Athens, "Monumental Sculptures", Kotzia Square, Athens - Greece
         Palazzo Bricherasio, Torino - Italy

         "FIAC", Galerie Pièce Unique, Paris - France
2001 "Salon de Mars", Liliane Sicard, "Jewels", Geneva - Switzerland

          Boca Raton Museum of Art, retrospective show, Boca Raton, Florida - USA

          Ludwig Museum, "Sophia Vari : Monumental Sculptures and Assemblages on Canvas", Komblentz - Germany
          Liechtentaler Allee at Augustplatz, "Sophia Vari : Monumental Sculptures Outside", Baden-Baden - Germany
          Galerie Frank Pages, "Recent Works", Baden-Baden - Germany

          City of Geneva, "Sophia Vari : Monumental Sculptures", street of the Constitution, Geneva - Switzerland
          Artrium, "Sculptures and Assemblages on Canvas", Geneva - Switzerland
          Nohra Haime Gallery, New York City - USA
2002 Galerie Pièce Unique, Paris - France

          Galerie Pièce Unique, "Baccarat meets Sophia Vari", Paris - France
          Comune di Firenze, Assessorato alla Cultura, Salle d'Armes du Palazzo Vecchio and Piazza della Signoria, "Monumental Sculptures", Florence - Italy

2003 Nohra Haime Gallery, "Nevelson/Vari : a Dialogue", New York City - USA
          French Embassy in Greece, "Baccarat meets Sophia Vari", Athens - Greece

          Liliane Sicard, "Baccarat meets Sophia Vari", Geneva - Switzerland

          "Pavillon des Antiquaires et des Beaux-Arts", Liliane Sicard, "Jewels", Paris - France

          Comune di Pietrasanta, Assessorato alla Cultura, "Sophia Vari at Pietrasanta", Chiesa San Agostino and Piazza del Duomo, Pietrasanta - Italy
2004 Benaki Museum, Athens - Greece

          Musée Baccarat and Ileana Bouboulis Fine Arts, "Sophia Vari", Paris - France

          City of Rome, "Monumental Sculptures", Piazza Esedra, Rome - Italy

          National Art Gallery, "Balai Seni Lukis Negara Exhibition", Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia
2005 Casa de Risparmio, "La General", Granada - Spain
          Santa Inès de Sevilla, "La General", Sevilla - Spain
          Caixa de Gerona, "La General", Gerona - Spain

          Nohra Haime Gallery, New York City - USA

          City Hall of the 6th Arrondissement, Comité Saint-Germain
          Didier Imbert Art Productions, "Sophia Vari at Saint-Germain- des-Prés", Paris - France
2006 Citta di Moncalieri, "Sophia Vari. Monumental Sculptures at Moncalieri", Moncalieri/Torino - Italy
          Galeria Ramise Barquet, Monterrey - Mexico
          Galerie Pièce Unique, Paris- France
2007 Galleria d'Arte Contini, Venice - Italy
          Caja Canarias, Cultural Center, Tenerife - Tenerife
2008 Confucius Temple, Beijing - China
          Gardens of Boulingrins, "15 Monumental Sculptures" , Monte-Carlo - Monaco

2009 J & P Fine Art, "Sculptures and Watercolors", Zürich - Switzerland

2010 Artcurial, exhibition of her jewelry and presentation of the book "Sophia Vari Bijoux Sculptés", Paris - France
          J & P Fine Arts, exhibition of her jewelry and presentation of the book "Sophia Vari Bijoux Sculptés", Zürich - Switzerland
2011 Paseo de la Castellana, "Forma y Color", Monumental Sculptures", Madrid - Spain 
         Galerie Piece Unique & Piece Unique Variations, "I Love Greece", Paris - France

         "Sophia Vari the Plazas of Cartagena", Monumental Sculptures, Cartagena de Indias -Colombia
         Nohra Haime Gallery, "Recent Sculptures and Watercolors", New York - USA

          Louisa Guinness Gallery & Ben Brown Fine Arts, exhibition of her jewelry, paintings, sculptures and presentation of the book "Sophia Vari Bijoux Sculptés", London - UK
2012 Bourse Palace, "Sophia Vari Le Armoniche Evoluzioni della Forma" , monumental sculptures, sculptures and paintings, Genoa - Italy
         Contini Galleria d'Arte" Sophia Vari Gioielli - Sculture - Dipinti", Venice and Cortina d'Ampezzo - Italy 

         N H Galeria, " Sophia Vari: Watercolors and Collages", Cartagena de Indias - Colombia

         Nohra Haime Gallery, " Sophia Vari Wearable Sculpture", New York - USA
         Galerie MiniMasterpiece, " Sophia Vari Bijoux Sculptés", Paris - France 

2013 N H Galeria, " Sophia Vari: escultura y obra en tela", Cartagena de Indias - Colombia
         "Sophia Vari" Sculptures and Paintings Pera Museum, Istanbul - Turkey

2014 " Sophia Vari" Sculptures, paintings and jewels at the Museum of Contemporary Art of the Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation, Andros - Greece 

         Piretti Art Gallery, " Sophia Vari", Knokke - Le Zoute - Belgium
         Louisa Guinness Gallery, " Scale of Beauty", jewels, London - UK
         Galerie MiniMasterpiece, jewels, Paris - France
2015 "Sophia Vari, Pueblos de Colombia", Galeria El Museo, Bogota - Colombia
         Contini Art UK, " Le Désir de la Forme", London - Great Britain
2016 Sophia VARI, « L’Ombre et la Lumière » Galerie Dumonteil Shanghai, Chine


PUBLIC COLLECTIONS

Belgium
Fondation Verannemann, Kruishoutem

Colombia
Museum of Antiochia, near Medellin
Fondation Botero, Luis Angel Arango Library, Bogota City of Cartagena de Indias

USA
Wichita State University, Plaza of the Heroines, Wichita, Kansas Hilton Hotel, New York City
Ulrich Museum of Art, Wichita, Kansas
Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio

France
City of Paris

Greece
National Gallery of Art / Alexandros Soutzos Museum, Athens Benaki Museum, Athens Vorres Contemporary Art Museum, Paiania
National Pinacoteca, Athens
Foundation Basil and Elise Goulandris, Modern Art Museum, Andros
Pieridis Museum, Athens
City of Athens, Square Mayor

The Netherlands
Beeldenaanzen Museum, Den Haag

Italy
City of Pietrasanta
Museo degli Argenti, dept. Gioiello contemporaneo, Palazzo Pitti, Florence Costa Croisière, Genoa

Japan
Open Air Museum of Utsukushi-ga-hara

Puerto Rico
Museo de Ponce, Ponce

Portugal
Fundaçao Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon

Switzerland
Musée de la Main, Lausanne

Venezuela
Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Caracas Sofia Imber, Caracas