Sonia van de Haar is an artist and architectural colour specialist. Born in Wollongong, NSW, she studied painting at the School of Art and Design (SOAD), ANU; fresco painting at the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, India; and architecture at the University of NSW. In 2001, she formed Lymesmith, a colour-focused studio working to produce site-specific artworks and material palettes for the built environment, to reflect her cross-disciplinary interests and position outside of traditional gallery-based art making. In both her architectural and art work, Sonia is known as Lymesmith.
With a deep understanding of how colour, space and form interact, Lymesmith works with architects, designers and private clients to realize the colour potential within their projects. Ranging from innovative material palettes to painted installations for large-scale public infrastructure, Lymesmith’s work can be enjoyed at parks, universities, restaurants, homes, city laneways, pools, and even the public toilets at Australia’s most iconic beach.
A hybrid practice operating between art and architecture, Lymesmith is first and foremost about exploring colour within, for and in response to buildings.
