Sophie Gough: ‘I value the ability to shift and adapt, to give form to intuition’
Sophie Gough is an Irish artist based on the rural coast of West Cork. Her practice spans drawing, sculpture, painting, and sound, and is rooted in material research and spatial sensitivity.
Sophie Gough’s work is concerned with exploring notions of shifting identities. Working across drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture and recently sound, her research uncovers new links between the materialities of things found in our landscapes, often shifting from the personal to the public, the political to the historical or the permanent to the temporary.
Sophie is interested in interrogating the concept of landscape as mnemonic; an arrangement of natural, physical and emotional elements that help us to remember things – aspects that are often greater than the land itself.
Was a career as an artist something you always aspired to?
God, no. I come from a family of doctors and scientists, so art college never really felt like an option. But once I got into photography as a teenager, my parents were incredibly supportive and encouraged me to explore it. It wasn’t until my Leaving Cert, walking out of my economics exam, horrified at the thought of actually studying any of the “secure” careers on my CAO, that it clicked. I told my mom, and she simply asked what I did want to do. When I said art college, both she and my dad backed me completely—they knew whatever I chose, I’d give it everything.
What is your process when creating a new work? How do certain themes and experiences feed into or present themselves in your art?
Walking is a huge part of my process. I love exploring a place through my own body and it’s often a starting point when I’m beginning new research around a specific landscape, which is a key thread within my work.
What are some of your favourite subjects, or specific pieces that you’ve created?
Identity. It’s so complex and always evolving, kind of like memory. And materiality, I am materially obsessed. Themes of time, landscape and the body are so entrenched within those subjects.
Tell us about The Art Riddler Exhibition.
It’s absolutely mental. And essential – mask and all. To have an exhibition happening in the centre of Dublin with an incredible footfall where there is zero commission – this prioritising of the artist and their work is not only unheard of in Ireland but essentially anywhere. The impact that 10K can have on the artist is seismic too in buying time. I have easily had the best professional year of my career following my win in 2024. The disgraceful housing system and extortionate rents we have in Ireland is so prohibitive to making. It’s an incredible opportunity to get the work in front of people who are actually looking to buy too. That and the camaraderie felt between the selected artists each year is incredible.
Who is someone you look up to in the realm of Irish art?
Oh there’s so many. Dorothy Cross creates such powerful works that can sometimes appear intensely simple. It’s a balance I am forever striving for.
What has been the highlight of your career so far?
Probably Japan, which was funded by the Art Riddler Award. I did a two month dream residency in Kyoto which led to my first international solo exhibition, and while there I was commissioned to make a large painting for the insanely beautiful new Irish Embassy in Tokyo, Ireland House by the architectural firm Henry J Lyons.
What is one thing you wish everyone knew about working as an artist?
It’s not half as romantic or easy as people think. There’s an ungodly amount of admin and time spent not in the studio. But at the same time, it is magic.
What would you say to a budding artist unsure of their next steps?
Do and try as much as you can. Don’t get hung up on making the work you think you should make. Travel.
Sophie Gough’s life in culture
The last thing I saw and loved… Oooh, Aleana Egan’s raw bronze works in Paris with the Kerlin.
The book I keep coming back to… Vibrant Matter by Jane Bennet.
I find inspiration in… My home of Tropical Glengarriff (West Cork)
My favourite film is… Interstellar.
A career highlight is… New York stands out, working for sculptor Michael Joo who I met while interning at EVA: International and living in NYC learning so much about the madness of the art world for two years.
The song I listen to to get in the zone is… Anything by Talos. He was a good friend and just so incredibly talented. I’ve always been drawn to the spatiality felt within his music. It’s boundless. Mary McCarthy, the then director of the National Sculpture Factory, introduced us on the factory floor when I was just out of college and so green. Listening reminds me of that time when the limitations of what and where I could make felt infinite.
The last exhibition I recommended is… Meg Webster and all the ‘Minimalism’ show at Bourse de Commerce in Paris. Holy crap.
I never leave the house without… My phone. It’s a living breathing archive for me of writing, texts, podcasts, camera, videos. Anyone who follows me online knows how much of my time I spend filming my walks exploring GG, it’s so surreal down there.
The best advice I’ve ever gotten… From another artist: Never say no to a group show!
The most challenging thing about being an artist is… Maybe for me, the isolation. Many of the people close to me are not artists and sometimes it’s hard for people outside of this work to understand the weight of things within it. It’s everything to me and I’m often happy to sacrifice many other things for it.
If I wasn’t an artist, I would be… A material scientist or researcher. I’m absolutely fascinated by materials.
The magic of art to me is… the freedom it gives me. In a world defined by structure and expectation, it’s a space where I can keep evolving and resisting things—questioning, experimenting, and responding to what matters most to me. My practice is fluid; I move between painting, drawing, sculpture, sound, and writing depending on what feels most charged at the time. That ability to shift and adapt, to give form to intuition, is something I value and enjoy so much every day in the studio.
Sophie Gough was one of the chosen artists for this year Art Riddler Exhibition which hosted over 100 artists, with one winning a €10,000 prize. The exhibit also had an expanded programme that includes a groundbreaking augmented reality installation.
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