Sigrid Sandström, a distinguished Swedish artist, embarked on a pivotal artistic journey during her MFA studies at Yale in 2000, when a summer residency in Maine ignited her passion for landscape painting. She found an unexpected resonance between the American and Swedish natural environments, perceiving the familiar trees and blooming lilacs as a 'distorted memory' of her homeland. This experience cemented her conviction that a landscape is more than a mere physical setting; it is a profound psychological arena.
Sandström, now 55, explores emotional and ambiguous terrains through her art. Her canvases oscillate between the stark desolation of a winter pasture and the vibrant energy of a sunset or a stormy sea. Her recent work, such as 'Nubes,' a five-foot-tall piece, features a cloud-like form enveloped by swirling blues and pale yellows, evoking a sense of both playfulness and foreboding. Currently residing in Stockholm, Sandström balances a demanding exhibition schedule, with recent shows spanning Los Angeles, Tokyo, and Shanghai, and an upcoming solo exhibition at Anat Ebgi gallery in New York City, marking her first in over a decade. She prefers acrylics for their rapid drying time and employs diverse techniques like staining and splattering to create rich textures. Her latest works display a heightened intensity of color, drawing inspiration from early Renaissance frescoes, notably those of Giotto and Fra Angelico, influencing her bold combinations of pink, orange, and purple hues.
Sandström's artistic evolution is deeply personal and reflective of her life's journey. Born to an architect mother and an engineer father in Stockholm, she initially didn't envision a career in art. However, her innate talent for drawing led her to summer painting courses, which she found therapeutic, believing art could articulate emotions beyond words. Her move to New York City in 1995 for an exchange program at Cooper Union proved transformative, fostering an environment where she thrived. Her time in Texas, as an artist-in-residence, introduced her to the expansive, often sublime landscapes of the American West, further shaping her artistic perspective. Now back in Sweden, Sandström continues to find inspiration in the Nordic countryside, literature, and Eastern philosophy, particularly the Taoist text 'Zhuangzi,' which lends its title, 'Formation and Loss,' to her upcoming show. This duality of presence and absence, much like the act of breathing, is central to her current artistic exploration, encouraging viewers to find meaning in ambiguity and the interplay of form and void. Her unique approach, characterized by intuitive composition and unexpected elements like small, vivid discs of color, creates a dialogue between her past and future works, revealing unconscious threads of continuity and light.
Sigrid Sandström's artistic narrative is a testament to the power of observation, introspection, and the courage to explore the unknown. Her journey underscores how a profound connection to both the external world and internal experiences can manifest in art that is both deeply personal and universally resonant. Through her captivating landscapes and abstract forms, Sandström invites us to look beyond the obvious, to find emotion in color, and to embrace the unresolved complexities of existence, much like the ever-changing nature of the world itself.