SANDRA MANZI
BIO
Sandra Manzi was born and raised in Toronto, and currently resides in Hamilton. She received her Diploma in Fine Arts/Experimental Arts from the Ontario College of Art (now OCADU) in Toronto, and then received a B.A. in Fine Arts from the University of Guelph. She is a recipient of grants from the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, and the Toronto Arts Council, and has been a finalist for the Boynes Artist Award three times. Her work is represented by galleries in Toronto, Oakville, Hamilton, Ottawa, Seattle and San Francisco. Her paintings can be found in private collections throughout Canada, Europe, and the United States.
ARTIST STATEMENT
Drawing inspiration from my upbringing in Toronto, a bustling urban metropolis, I quietly observe the interaction with humans and their surroundings, documenting the relationship between people and their urban environment. My paintings often focus on street portraiture - capturing anonymous people in the public spaces of major cities around the world, I explore everyday life and the heterogeneity of urban culture. I make paintings from these observed moments which are removed from their everyday speed. Using oil paint I freeze frames in compositions which allow the viewer to give equal attention to people, objects, forms, patterns, and the ways in which they interact. I'm interested in the city, its people, its rituals, its landscapes, its communities, and its objects; by elevating the everyday elements to a sacred status through my paintings. Growing up in the city of Toronto taught me to find inspiration from fragments I see within public spaces, with all the memories and sensations combining to create a form of urban visual poetry. Through expressive realistic oil paintings that capture the fleeting beauty of everyday life, my work is influenced by the vibrant urban landscapes and the dynamic interplay between people and their surroundings. I paint these moments to evoke emotion and reveal the hidden essence of ordinary moments. Through my art, I invite people to pause and appreciate the beauty in the ordinary, connecting them to moments that may go unnoticed. During a time where we are often distracted I would best describe my oil paintings as a celebration of the beauty of being present. They invite us to recognize the contemplative figures we encounter daily.
In my work, realism isn’t confined to the image alone, I carry it through to the concept as well. I paint what speaks to me about real life experiences. I want my viewer to feel the true to life quality of my scenes. I find narrative is a huge part of what I do, but I prefer to leave my paintings open-ended and ambiguous, allowing viewers to complete each subject with stories of their own. I love wandering aimlessly through cities, with no destination in mind. This is how my process begins. There’s something about observing people, architecture, and unexpected details that sparks new thoughts. These small, unplanned experiences often find their way into my work. I like painting city scenes with real people in real places where people are going about their daily lives, and I rely heavily on capturing spontaneous moments rather then staged ones. My current body of work reflects my interest in observations of the seemingly incidental scenes, fleeting moments and gestures, of our everyday lives. And although my painting process is very controlled, they're created by the chance encounters found within the aesthetics of the snapshot. Hence, street photography has always been a huge inspiration for me. I often add a lot of detail which suggests my fascination with the clutter of everyday life, and I often crop areas from a much larger view in order to extract everyday people from the crowded urban environment and place them center stage. All my paintings are based on photos I take while walking amongst the crowd who are unaware of my presence and therefore are natural and relaxed . . . giving a more true representation of the essence of the person, people, and interpersonal situations being painted.
I'm drawn to the impression of the light and the dynamics within our urban environment - the movement and flow of watching people as they navigate in public spaces and all the serendipitous moments. My paintings are the result of direct observation whereby I interpret my surroundings, capturing a fleeting moment in time, honoring the quiet narratives that shape everyday life. I'm particularly interested in the city and its protagonists; but also my family, friends and acquaintances, and look for unique moments where I can capture people unaware. Using my own recomposed photographs, I create paintings which transform fragments of ordinary life into visual narratives which are open to interpretation. I often focus on the possible stories within the spaces in which we move and connect. Whether of street scenes, airports, museums, or interiors; my paintings are both voyeuristic and self reflective depictions of my eavesdropping on the life around me. They are paintings reflecting on the culture of the city, and what it means to be a stranger living amongst strangers.
The first thing that interests me is composition and the push and pull between light and dark, colors, shapes and form. And then, only after those formal elements catch my attention, do I start to recognize the subject - for example someone sitting with a coffee or a book, which only comes secondary.
I'm interested in the people, places and things seen within everyday moments, mainly within the urban landscape, reflecting on the culture of the city, and what it means to be a stranger living amongst strangers. I like to walk a lot, particularly around where I live and work, always keeping my eyes open for scenes to paint. You could say that I'm obsessed with the beauty of the streetscape, and look for scenes where the banality of the everyday is infused with mystery. They are familiar modest daily observances, they are part of the shared experience of living in a city. My paintings originate from observing and then photographing real people and spaces, and transforming these moments into figurative, painterly compositions. Drawing my inspiration from the narratives and subtle poetry within street scenes, work and leisure environments. Sometimes I see something that is just right - people are in the right spot, pass each other at the right moment, the right light happens to be shining, or the figure to background plays off each other perfectly. A lot of my work relies on these fortuitous moments, where things just sort of happen and you're either there and ready for it or not. Through painterly realism, I focus on natural lighting, fleeting scenes and incidental moments in urban spaces, as well as summer leisure activities on promenades and waterfronts. Working with precision in observation and rendering, I explore the upstaged, incidental, and often overlooked moments of everyday life. Sometimes its the way light settles across a table or shines on someone's hair, and at other times it's the visual poetry found in the cacophony that makes up our urban environment. But its always the subtle narratives embedded in ordinary scenes that draw me in.
GALLERY REPRESENTATION
Dimensions Gallery, Toronto
Art Interiors, Toronto
Wall Space Gallery, Ottawa
Lost In Composition, Seattle, Washington
Christopher Clark Fine Art, San Francisco, California
Noma Gallery, Collingwood, Ontario
Crown and Press Gallery, Hamilton, Ontario
Summer and Grace Gallery, Oakville, Ontario
EXHIBITIONS
2026 - Summer And Grace Gallery, "Holiday 100", Group Show, Nov. 2026
2026 - Crown and Press Gallery, "Titles", Group Show, Oct. 30-Nov. 27, 2026
2026 - Arta Gallery, 'Collective Light', Group Show, Sept. 18-Oct. 3, 2026
2026 - Lost In Composition Galley, 'Subversion – of the dominant art paradigm', Group Show, May 6 – May 31
2026 - Lost In Composition Gallery, 'Debut', Group Show, April 1-May 3rd
2025 - Summer and Grace Gallery, Two Person Show, Oct. 9-26, 2025
2025 - Noma Gallery, Gallery Opening Group Show, June, Collingwood
2025 - 'The Power of She', Group Show, Summer and Grace Gallery, May 1-June 15
2025 - Elaine Fleck Gallery, Two Person Show, April 1-30
2024 - Elaine Fleck Gallery, Christmas Show, December
2024 - Elaine Fleck Gallery, Summer Group Show, August
2024 - Summer and Grace Gallery, A Beautiful Life: Still Life Exhibition, May 30 - July 14
2024 - Elaine Fleck Gallery, Two Person Show, April 6-30
2024 - Crown and Press Gallery, February 3 - 21
2023 - Elaine Fleck Gallery, Toronto, Group Show, December
2023 - Centre3 Gallery, Hamilton, Ont., Solo Show, Nov. 3 - 28
2023 - Elaine Fleck Gallery, Three Person Show, Oct. 4-28
2023 - Elaine Fleck Gallery, Group Show, Sept. 7-30
2023 - Crown and Press Gallery, Hamilton, Ontario
2023 - Paula While Diamond Gallery, "Big Idea Show", July - August
2023 - Square Foot Show - Florals, Online show, May 4 - 6
2023 - Art Gallery of Hamilton Annual Art Sale, Hamilton, Ont., April 27 - 30
2023 - Dundas Valley School of Art 52nd Annual Auction, Hamilton, Ont., April 10 - 15
2023 - Ironwood Cider House, Solo Show, Niagara on The Lake, Ont., April 15 - May 4
2023 - Summer and Grace Gallery, "Joy" Exhibit, Dec. 1, 2022 - Feb. 27
2022 - Paula White Diamond Gallery, "Square Foot Show", Nov. 26 - Dec. 4, Waterloo, Ont.
2022 - Paula White Diamond Gallery, "Big Ideas Show", Oct. 27 - Nov. 12, Waterloo, Ont.
2022 - Art Gallery of Mississauga, Second Annual Juried Show, Sept.13 - Oct. 23
2022 - Summer And Grace Gallery, Oakville, Ontario
2022 - 2023 - Art Gallery of Hamilton, Art Rental And Sales Gallery, Hamilton, Ontario
2022 - Earls Court Gallery, "Bouquet", April 7 - May 7, 2022, Hamilton, Ontario
2021 - 2023 - Art Gallery of Ontario, Art Rental And Sales Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
2021 - Toronto Outdoor Art Fair, July 2-11., Toronto, Ontario
2010 - George Brown College Gallery, Three Person Show, Toronto, Ontario
1998 - 2007 - Gallery Moos, Toronto, Group Shows, Toronto, Ontario
2008 - Fran Hill Gallery – “The Portrait Challenge”, Group Show, Toronto, Ontario
2004 - The Burston Gallery, “Crooked Grind”, Solo Show, Toronto, Ontario
2002 - Luft Gallery, “Hockey Card Portraits”, Solo Show, Toronto, Ontario
1998 - West Wing Art Space, “Fleeting Moments”, Solo Show, Toronto, Ontario
GRANTS AND AWARDS
2024 - Boynes Artist Award, 11th Edition Finalist
2022 - Boynes Artist Award, 7th Edition Finalist.
2022 - Boynes Artist Award, 6th Edition Finalist.
2021 - Ontario Arts Council, Exhibition Assistance Grant
2003 -Toronto Arts Council, Exhibition Assistance Grant
2002 - Canada Council for the Arts Grant
2002 - Ontario Arts Council Grant
EDUCATION
1988 - B.A., Fine Arts, University of Guelph
1987 - A.O.C.A., Fine Arts/Experimental Arts, Ontario College of Art and Design
1984 - C.T.S.A.D., Fine Arts, Central Technical School, Department of Fine Arts, Toronto
PRESS
https://italocanadese.org/2025/11/17/the-life-and-art-of-sandra-manzi/
Youtube Interview - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9KCgditLoM
Boynes Artist Award, 11th Edition Finalist -
"We are delighted to showcase Vintage by Sandra Manzi, a Finalist in the Boynes Artist Award 11th Edition! Description: Inspired by the works of Old Masters, Sandra’s 'Vintage' recontextualizes James Tissot’s painting 'Croquet', blending elements of art history with contemporary figures. As a figurative artist, Sandra captures fleeting human moments that spark bigger questions about identity and what it means to be human. This dialogue between past and present, tradition and technology, creates a timeless and thought-provoking narrative."
https://boynesartistaward.com/interviews/artist-sandra-manzi
https://boynesartistaward.com/interviews/artist-sandra-manzi-updated