Overview
Sophia Vari was an internationally celebrated Greek artist known for her distinctive visual language that bridges classical harmony and contemporary abstraction. Working across sculpture, painting, collage, and jewelry, Vari explored the dialogue between geometry and sensuality, volume and elegance. Her works are instantly recognizable for their refined formal balance, bold color contrasts, and mastery of space and material.
Beginning her artistic journey in painting at the age of sixteen, Vari’s practice evolved significantly after a formative trip to Egypt in 1978, where she was deeply inspired by monumental sculpture. From that moment on, sculpture in bronze and marble became central to her work, allowing her to shape humanized, architectural forms that inhabit public and private spaces with quiet power.
Vari’s signature polychrome sculptures have been exhibited extensively across major cities including Paris, Florence, Rome, Monte Carlo, Munich, Geneva, Madrid, Beijing, Shanghai, Cartagena de Indias, and London. Her ability to integrate sculptural rhythm into urban settings reflects her lifelong pursuit: “to take geometry, volume and form and humanize the whole within space.”
Alongside her large-scale works, Vari developed a celebrated body of jewelry—sophisticated “sculptures-à-porter”—which, over 35 years, transformed noble materials into wearable art. In her assemblages on canvas, she replaced volume with color, while maintaining the essence of sculptural integrity.
Vari’s oeuvre was informed by her multicultural background and international life between France, Colombia, Mexico, the United States, Greece, Italy, and Monaco. Her career was marked by solo and group exhibitions, public commissions, and participation in major international art fairs. She was married to renowned Colombian artist Fernando Botero.
Sophia Vari passed away in 2023 in Monaco. Her legacy endures in a body of work that continues to resonate for its elegance, complexity, and timeless sense of harmony.
Works
  • Sophia Vari, Approche Définitive, 2013
    Approche Définitive, 2013
  • Sophia Vari, Ce Silence, 2010
    Ce Silence, 2010
  • Sophia Vari, Danse Infinie, 2011
    Danse Infinie, 2011
  • Sophia Vari, FEU BLEU, 2011
    FEU BLEU, 2011
  • Sophia Vari, I Love Greece, 2008
    I Love Greece, 2008
  • Sophia Vari, I Love Greece, 2008
    I Love Greece, 2008
  • Sophia Vari, L'Etendue du Silence, 2014
    L'Etendue du Silence, 2014
  • Sophia Vari, Langage de l’Eau, 1996
    Langage de l’Eau, 1996
  • Sophia Vari, Le Baiser, 19?
    Le Baiser, 19?
  • Sophia Vari, Les Ailes Perdues, 2011
    Les Ailes Perdues, 2011
  • Sophia Vari, Les Yeux de l’Eau, 2010
    Les Yeux de l’Eau, 2010
  • Sophia Vari, Maternité, 2013
    Maternité, 2013
  • Sophia Vari, Message de L’Invisible, 2014
    Message de L’Invisible, 2014
  • Sophia Vari, Minotaure, 1987
    Minotaure, 1987
  • Sophia Vari, N° 22 - Crépuscule, 1996
    N° 22 - Crépuscule, 1996
  • Sophia Vari, Titiribi, 2012
    Titiribi, 2012
  • Sophia Vari, Triangle Rouge, 2009
    Triangle Rouge, 2009
  • Sophia Vari, UNTITLED, 1985
    UNTITLED, 1985
Exhibitions