About Sonja

Sonja Schlagel, founder and owner of sonjART Galerie, was born in Alkmaar, the Netherlands, in 1966. She moved to Switzerland in 1990, where she built a successful career in the pharmaceutical industry, working with internationally recognized companies including Marion Merrell Dow (MMD), Hoechst, Glaxo, and Merck Sharp & Dohme. During these years, she developed strong expertise in sales, client relations, and project management.

At the age of forty, Sonja made a decisive shift—choosing to follow a path that connected her professional strengths with her lifelong passion for art. She completed a two-year apprenticeship with one of Amsterdam's most respected art dealers, gaining deep insight into the art world, curation, and collector relationships.

She later founded sonjART Galerie in Rapperswil, Switzerland, where she built a carefully curated collection and developed a reputation for her personal approach and refined artistic eye.

In 2018, she closed the gallery due to health reasons. Today, feeling restored, inspired, and full of energy, Sonja is reconnecting with her passion for art and sharing it in a more personal and flexible way. She is dedicated to helping clients find artworks that bring character, emotion, and individuality into their living spaces.

For Sonja, art is not simply decoration—it is a reflection of personality, memory, and feeling. Her goal is to guide each client toward pieces that truly resonate with them and transform their environment into something meaningful.

Sonja is married and shares her life with 2 Shih Tzus Charlie and Sofie. She lives in Amsterdam, Valencia and Zürich. Being in nature, performing Qi gong, swimming and reading brings her clarity, balance and quiet inspiration in her busy life.

The sonjART Story

sonjART was founded with a single conviction: that original art has the power to transform a home into something truly personal. Over more than 20 years of curation, Sonja has built relationships with artists from across Europe — from Dutch realists and Swiss expressionists to CoBrA movement pioneers and Hungarian hyperrealists.

The gallery has represented 19 international artists and curated a collection of over 65 original paintings, each selected for its emotional depth, technical quality, and ability to resonate with collectors who seek something beyond the ordinary.

Collectors who have acquired works through sonjART span Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands, and beyond. Many return not just once, but again and again — because finding the right piece of original art is a journey, and Sonja is a trusted guide on that path.

Curation Philosophy

Sonja does not collect art by category or trend. She collects by feeling. When she encounters a work that stops her — that makes her pause, look twice, and feel something — she knows it belongs in the collection.

The artists represented by sonjART range from internationally recognised names such as Karel Appel and Corneille — founding members of the CoBrA movement — to emerging and mid-career painters who are creating some of the most exciting original work available in Switzerland today.

Whether you are looking for a large statement oil painting for your living room, a delicate still life for your dining space, or an abstract work that speaks to your personal aesthetic, Sonja offers individual guidance — free of pressure, rooted in genuine connection.

Exhibition History

• June 2026 — Kunstraum 15, Zeltweg 15, Zürich — Two-week pop-up exhibition featuring 19 international artists
• 2006–2018 — sonjART Galerie, Rapperswil, Switzerland — Permanent gallery space with rotating exhibitions and artist openings
• 2004–2006 — Private exhibitions and art consultancy, Zürich region

Frequently Asked Questions