After giving up her career as a lawyer in the 1990s, Sonia Gomes joined the art department at Escola Guignard de la UEMG, where she studied from 1995 to 1997. 

Sonia Gomes uses a mix of secondhand textiles and everyday materials to produce abstract sculptures. Through her assemblages, she links Brazil’s historical path with the untold stories of women, people of color, and nameless individuals. Her art, taken as a whole, showcases a decolonizing impulse, offering oblique commentary on the social inequities and ecological urgencies of present-day Brazil and, more broadly, the globalized world. 

Sonia Gomes gained international critical recognition in 2015 as the sole Brazilian woman artist chosen for the 56th Venice Biennale. The first retrospective of her work took place in 2018, showcased at both the Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand and the Instituto Bardi/Casa de Vidro. Her work is featured in renowned museums worldwide, including the Guggenheim in New York and the Museu de Arte in São Paulo.