Voyage LA Interview

By Angelica July 24, 2026 Interviews

From https://voyagela.com/interview/check-out-angelica-sotirious-story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Angelica Sotiriou.

Hi Angelica, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.It has been a wonderful journey, fraught with incredible opportunities, some difficult challenges and road blocks, a handful of well earned successes and a few losses that proved to be a blessing in my path as a creative.

Being an artist has defined me for 55 years. I graduated with a M.F.A. from U.C.L.A. at the height of the art world’s greatest era (70’s) in Los Angeles…And from there I never stopped creating bodies of work or teaching art to artists, to educators, students from college to elementary and to art museum aficionados. Teaching art has taken me throughout the county of Los Angeles and gave me the greatest insight into the beauty and diversity of our city. For the past 28 years I have focused on my studio art and I unendingly, creating bodies of art works that have been shown and sold both domestically and internationally.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?An artist/creative, often invests more in their love of their craft than ever can be arbitrarily measured monetarily or be reciprocated. I, as a woman artist in the 1970s, I faced many challenges. The art scene was still a “good ol’ boys club”. I was married, with two beautiful sons and a mortgage to pay each month. Any extra monies did not go into my art making process but, helped manage our daily lives with children. Marriage, was not a popular life path among my peers in the 60s and 70s.In hindsight, it was a challenge to garner recognition from my peers and the echalon of top tear artists as a married woman of children. I melded my love of art, working and making art as a teacher. I managed to find part-time teaching positions in the Arts with art institutions in the greater Los Angeles. It allowed me to pay our bills and still remain connected to the arts. My family was a priority for the first 25 years. As a young mom, I managed to sneak into our studio garage, in the late evening, and experiment with my compositions and document ideas in my sketchbook. I continued for decades working and showing up. I started seriously creating bodies of work in 1999 and I have not stopped. Has it been a financial success? Not really, but, has it been a success, yes immeasurably! Or better yet, has being a studio fine artists enriched my spiritual and physical life…Indeed it has, beyond all my imagination. I have been surprised at how tenacity, commitment and doggedly following one’s heartfelt passion, dissipates any remembered challenges and struggles that stood in my path as ghost summits.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?My works are a unique narrative. My paintings and drawings, dance a fine line between the secular and the sacred. I work very large and I attempt to invite the viewer of my works into and through the portal of the confines of the format and the compostions.Each work involves multiple layers of transparencies, a varied color palette, working with acrylic and interference pigments, from dark to light (following in the traditions of the Byzantine Iconography process). Color is my “jam”, and the energetic, rhythmic, surface texture and broad movements are my “butter”.The works have been coined, “Abstract Contemplative Narratives”, both, abstract and with poetic hints of tangible narratives. Thematically, the works come from the depths of deep personal prayers and soulful, universal observations. When one views these works, I want them to be called to ask questions about their own perceptions. I want the viewer to fall into the incredible energies of the work and to sense the co-creator and the artist’s hand in tandem…be it through the surprise of color and movement on canvas or the momentary insight into their own heart.The works are done on large canvas and on 100% rag paper. Both surfaces lend themselves to a fluid conversation with the artist’s eye, hand and heart.My works are unique among a percentage of my peers. My works are my voice, a voice I have never strayed from in the last 55 years.

Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?I don’t know if I am the best source to ask concerning networking. I am a bit like the tortoise of tortoise and hare. I have never stopped making or staying connected to other artists/creatives. I err on the side of being introverted. I love going to see the exhibitions of the many gifted artists in my world, to have a sense of what their voice is and the direction of current art genres and mediums. But, art openings are not my favorite networking style. It has always been difficult for me to befriend an individual to fulfill my advancement in the art scene. But, instead, I have found the handful of artists that I respect and hold in high regard and I support their openings and shared enlightened conversations. At my own openings, I make certain to acknowledge those genuinely interested in my works, to spend time with them to listen and to add to our discussions. My advice, keep your ears open and always listen carefully to others. Be authentic in your relationships, notoriety and recognition. Find your truth, and protect it as if it were your own child. Keep showing up. Talk to those artists that have come before you. It has worked for me and several shows have evolved from these events.For me, it has not been until I was in my 50’s did I understand how powerful Social Media is, and as an adjunct to attending openings and finding a mentor. I post daily my works and art process on Instagram and Facebook. Whether I have five or one hundred comments on my finished painting, it is a moot point. Slowly, people will see your works exponentially, and hear your voice in your written words and they will build an understanding of you as an artist.Yes, it is important to network, go to openings, meet influential people, pass out your card. But, at seventy-four, I revel in the fact that I can walk into my studio everyday, free from the chatter and distractions of our crazy, broken, wonderful world and create order out of the chaos on my canvas. It has been a full life and it is mine, no selling-out of my core principles and sensibilities. Not easy, but, an incredible blessing. What a journey. I have a show of my works at the new gallery in Manhattan Beach, Diversions Fine Arts Gallery, through the month of August. The Opening is August 1st. I would love to meet you.

Pricing:

1, 700.00 to 8,000.00

Contact Info:

Website: angelicasotiriou.com
Instagram: angelica_sotiriou_artist
Facebook: Angelica Sotiriou-artist