Miguel Sopena is an artist whose path into painting developed outside traditional academic routes, moving from a background in science into an atelier-led training in portraiture before gradually shifting towards abstraction.
Sopena’s practice is grounded in a sensitivity to material and process, where oil paint, mixed media and surface become active participants in the work. While his compositions now sit firmly within abstraction, they often begin with narrative or symbolic references, from memory and mythology to imagined figures and personal associations. These starting points dissolve through a layered, intuitive process, allowing gesture, colour and atmosphere to take precedence.
Working from his studio at Turf Projects in South London, Sopena continues to refine a visual language shaped in part by his Mediterranean origins, where light and rhythm remain ever-present. In this conversation, he reflects on his evolving approach to abstraction, the balance between structure and spontaneity, and his current move towards a more gestural, visceral mode of expression.
Are you self-taught, or did you undertake formal artistic training?
I did train as an artist, but not through the conventional BA/MA route. I come from a science background and felt the pull of art in adult life. I enrolled on a part-time Fine Art foundation course which was incredibly fun and convinced me I had found my vocation. I then completed a two-year, atelier-style private diploma in portraiture, which gave me a grounding in figurative art and traditional oil painting.
How would you define your visual language or conceptual approach?
I suppose I would currently define myself as an expressionist painter. I kept evolving from my figurative origins and at the moment I work mainly in abstraction. I am keenly interested in the materiality and the presence of the media I work with (oil paint, dry and mixed media…). I am also very interested in light and colour, which I think is something I carried along from my figurative training. Contrasting light and dark and exploring the interplay of colour on the canvas is a key part of my creative process.
Can you describe your creative process from conception to completion?
I like having some sort of preliminary image or idea as a reference when I start working on an abstract piece. This may be a character (real or imaginary), a narrative or an image or feeling that speaks to me. I usually then produce sketches to develop the theme and decide on the colour scheme, if applicable. In my large abstract oil paintings, I normally then work in layers, starting from a basic sketch on the canvas, then layering colour and texture from thinner and lighter to heavier and more material. The process can take a long time until the piece looks and feels complete.
Does narrative, symbolism, or storytelling play a role within your work?
As mentioned, even though my current work is fully abstract, I often have some sort of symbolic or narrative reference in mind when I start working, and that’s a big help in overcoming the terror of the blank canvas. This may be a historical or mythological character or a story or narrative that interests me, or perhaps a landscape or physical setting that I connect with personally, or a powerful memory. I hope that the feelings evoked by that reference material will make their way into the piece and reach the viewer.
Which artists have most influenced you historically or contemporarily and why?
Too many to count, but I’m quite big on the classics so I always find myself thinking about historical figures like Wassily Kandinsky or Paul Klee, with their stunning capacity for emotional expression, or the abstract expressionists of the 1950s and 60s because of the raw power of their work and their enjoyment of the painting medium. But then I also admire artists who have pushed figuration to their limits, sometimes in disturbing ways, like Asger Jorn and the CoBrA movement. I generally love looking at all sorts of art, even if it doesn’t directly connect with my practice. I believe artists should always strive to broaden their horizons and appreciate different forms of creative expression.
What personal, cultural, or environmental influences shape your practice?
I am originally from Eastern Spain, by the Mediterranean sea, and I have often been told that my abstract work has a Mediterranean feeling. I do believe that the light, the rhythms and the atmosphere of the place or places we knew in early life stay with us all our lives, and as artists all those influences probably crop up in our work, whether we intend to or not. I also feel that, because my path to becoming an artist has been slightly different, my practice may lie a little bit outside the conventions and assumptions people take on board on the traditional BA/MA route.
Where is your studio based, and how does the space inform your creativity?
My studio is based in a very friendly artist-led organisation called Turf Projects in Croydon, South London. Turf is deeply engaged with the local community and runs a regular exhibition schedule alongside a busy activities programme, plus the artists’ studios. The stability provided by my studio has been key in allowing my practice to flourish and develop. I have grown very attached to my creative space- It’s in a basement too, which wouldn’t be many people’s first choice, but personally I love the quiet and the feeling of stepping out of the world.
Do you have any rituals or rhythms that anchor your studio practice?
I suppose we all have rituals that help us step into the creative mindset- Put the kettle on, hang my coat and put on my painting overalls (which are really thick with paint now!), take a deep breath and have a look around at the work in progress in my studio, put on my earbuds and pick a podcast or a piece of music, have a think about the priorities for the session. At the end of the day, the process of using up the last of the paint, cleaning my brushes and putting my materials away is a nice way to unwind.
What bodies of work or projects are you currently developing?
I like working in a variety of formats and media at the same time. The largest abstracts I’m working on at the moment are two metres by one metre fifty, and I create work in the whole gamut down to small abstracts on canvas and canvas board, which I often produce using paint left over from working on larger pieces. I feel that there have been times in the past when my work has become a little bit too planned and safe, so I’d say at the moment I’m searching for a freer, more gestural and visceral visual language.
Where can collectors encounter or acquire your work?
I would invite everyone to visit my website, www.miguelsopenaarts.com, and my Instagram (@miguelsopena1), and to contact me directly for any enquiries. Visitors to my website can also sign up to my monthly email newsletter, which is a great way of keeping up to speed with new work, upcoming exhibitions, and lots of other news. I also have a lot of work available for purchase on online platforms such as Saatchi Art, Degree Art, and The Artling.
