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. Fresh out of University she started working at the prestigious Carmen Lamanna Gallery from 1989 - 1991 before starting to work at the Art Gallery of Ontario, where she worked for 30 years. During this time she was showing her paintings in various galleries in and around Toronto. In 2022 she moved to Hamilton and now paints full time in her home studio. 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, Seattle and San Francisco. Her paintings can be found in private collections throughout Canada, Europe, and the United States.
ARTIST STATEMENT
My work aims to create contemporary compositions which bridge the past and present by remixing the masters of old with abstraction, blending classical oil techniques with modern disruption. Grounded in traditional technique, that blend realism and abstraction, I want my paintings to first capture the magic in our everyday lives, while creating compositions that challenge perception and reimagine the works of history’s most celebrated painters.
Having lived and worked in a big major city most of my life, I use painting to document the present and depict contemporary urban life, where figures and faces have a story and place within the world. I am inspired by people and storytelling, context is very important to me and I'm always looking for intrigue in everyday situations. I draw inspiration for my figure paintings from my immediate surroundings and the fascinating and culturally diverse people who populate the city, the people I meet, narratives within street scenes, and work environments. I love painting street scenes, markets, museums, festivals, busy places where lots of people come together. In these paintings I'm particularly drawn to the variety of people that I can paint in one scene - bringing people of varying ages, genders, and social class together. They also highlight the many different bits of things we don't normally notice such as shopping bags, bikes, headphones, sun glasses, and especially designer clothing with prominent brand labels shifting from person to person. For me this is the natural environment that I find inspiration from in the same way as a landscape painter would find inspiration from trees, mountains and other natural settings.
I source many of my images from a massive archive of my own photographs that I take during wandering around the city and in my travels, which become the basis for my paintings. Since the nature of photography dramatically expands the possibilities available to me this also becomes a source of inspiration. As some painters prefer to eliminate the signs of the original photographic image as a visual aid or to simply use it as a template before a more painterly approach, I prefer to celebrate them. I apply this concept once again in my process with digital photo editing apps. This has allowed me to experiment with an alternate series and other ways of visual storytelling. In this body of work, like layers of memory, I start to layer and recompose multiple images from my own photographs as well as found imagery from either film, magazines, or the internet and blend them with my own photographs. This creative process is based on collage and montage of personal archives as well as images found on the internet, which I combine through photo editing apps creating a microcosm of disparate images. Leaving some parts whole, some semi-layered, where scale between figures relates more to memory then to the real world. My reason for this is to explore how identity is not necessarily as fixed or culturally singular as one might think. In these paintings I integrate a myriad of art historical, filmic and personal references extracted from my daily life. Where spatial and temporal elements become co-opted to create a metaphysical site of accumulation. Stylistically, I wish to maintain the technical skill and precision of Realism, yet deployed against illusionistic instability. Some elements of the image are often semi-transparent, elongated, enlarged, or awkwardly positioned within space. Perspective is constructed only to be subtly undermined. The use of grayscale alongside colour creates a visual hierarchy of presence: some figures feel immediate and embodied, while others read as archival, ghostly, or imaginary.
During the pandemic, I think the thing we all missed most was the often shared collective experience that make up our day to day lives. Things like going into the city where the hustle and bustle of people going places - shopping, traveling to work or home, meeting friends, visiting galleries, or going to an outdoor festival, had suddenly ceased. I'm glad this is past us because I draw inspiration from the people I meet, narratives within street scenes, work environments, and local social gatherings. I am inspired by watching people. Storytelling and context is very important to me whether creating observational portraits, or larger paintings with figures and strong narratives. I look for intrigue in everyday situations and I love to capture the candid character of people.
GALLERY REPRESENTATION
Art Gallery of Ontario, Art Rental and Sales Gallery, Toronto
Art Interiors, Toronto
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 - 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