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Sanda Manuila
USA
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“My purpose is to make art that depicts the challenging path of life in these disturbing times, and that warns about the danger of the denial of climate change and depicts the fear of loss and the struggle for survival.”
Born in Geneva, Switzerland of Romanian political refugees, Sanda Manuila experienced expatriation and isolation at an early age. Her personal history of separation and traumatic family experiences have shaped her vision of discrepancies and differences and gave her the perspective of an outsider. That is why she feels so strongly connected to her artwork.
Homeless | Oil
$1,300
24 X 20
I saw many seagulls in Rome who were fed by the tourists. They didn't belong there, they should have been on the coast. The changes of their environment due to global warming had dislocated them. I painted the bird with ambiguity. You cannot tell if she is inside or outside of the house. She has lost her home. Climate change and the overgrowth of human population is the troubling reason for many species displacement and extinction.
As a young adult she left her native country and moved to Northern California where she is currently living. Over the years Manuila has learned how to become a citizen of the world, a status she gained by studying art over many years in different locations.
The Vigil | Oil
$1,300
24 X 15
The title of the painting is ironic, it should be "Surveillance." I am narrating a fable, of the Cat and the Crow. It is intended to enforce a useful truth, in which animals act like human beings.
The fear of the Other.
Because he is different the Other is threat, he will steal your home, your job, your security.
The Other is the foe spying on you.
The Other is deconstructing you.
The Other is the danger who will contaminate you
She studied at L’Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Bordeaux, France, Atelier Bessil in Montpellier France, and at the Cornish Institute of the Arts, in Seattle, WA. Most recently she traveled to Italy to attend the Angel Academy in Florence and the Rome Artworks Studio in Rome, Italy. Additionally, she participated in artist residencies at Dacia Gallery in NYC and in Sibiu, Romania.
“My method of painting is more controlled and allows precision, blending for smooth transitions of lights and darks.”
Sanda Manuila creates oil and mixed media pastel and gouache paintings, which are stylized representational images from which exude an allegorical quality. Her visual stories depict a state of mind in which the boundaries between dream and reality have become very fluid.
Stop | Oil
$1,500
24 X 30
When I was at the SF Moma I had an opportunity to photograph my own shadow. A few months later I was driving in Central Valley , CA and I saw many refineries. Coming from idealistic Napa Valley it was a choc. Then I experienced the trauma of evacuating my home because of the fires all around us.
My friend the crow is on my head, sharing the trauma of seeing Mother Nature suffering so dramatically because we have not been able to stop and ponder what we should do.
The monarch butterflies seem to collapse down, yet the image is ambiguous because they could also be rising from the ground., They unveil the story of transformation, and of a long journey of the soul, times of vulnerability, moments of miraculous growth. Metamorphosis is the magic that insects teach us
Traité de Décomposition | Oil
$1,500
30 X 24
She chooses dead roses, decaying vegetation, birds, and insects as her muses to depict how fauna and flora are so integrated into their environment that they merge into it. Manuila loves birds. Along with angels, birds are the only creatures that own plumage and that makes them unique. Because they fly and have access into a world that we cannot reach, they invoke associations of freedom and spirit.
“We are all on a long journey of the soul, encountering endless turns, shifts and experiences, times of vulnerability, moments of miraculous growth. Metamorphosis is the magic that insects teach us.”
“To achieve a more realistic and detailed style, I choose oil paint on canvas, applying it in multiple layers, sometimes starting with a black and white layer called grisaille.”
Birds sing, their language is foreign to us, yet it invokes many feelings in us. We see ourselves in them and use them to contemplate our place in the universe. With their textures and deep colors, dead roses show beauty in decay. After some time, they stop changing, and that gives them a timeless quality, a certain stillness.
Hanging in There | Mixed Media
$2,000
24 X 20
Bees symbolize team work, community, and resilience.. Flowers depend on them for pollination. They are key players in the chain work of Nature.
Here the bee is struggling for survival, hanging on a petrified and eroded American flag. Polarized politics, greed and conflicts are damaging our country and our world.
Monarch butterflies play a key role for Manuila’s inspiration. In Aztec mythology they represent the souls of the dead, waiting in the underground to return to visit their loved ones. Even when we abuse her, Mother Nature remains beautiful.
Emergence | Mixed Media
$2,000
24 X 20
Dead roses are caught in a storm, but they show resilience, they are rising from the ground . It could be a new beginning, a rebirth, hope.
Dead roses represent decayed beauty, After some time they stop changing and that gives them a timeless quality.
Even when we abuse her M<other Nature remains beautiful
Manuila’s purpose is to paint visual stories of a world on the edge: The story of the danger of refusing to look ahead. The story of Nature’s resilience and beauty even after the abuse we have been inflicting upon her. The story of Nature’s anger challenging us with extreme weather patterns: fires, earthquakes, floods, winter storms, hurricanes melting glaciers, and more. The story of our home, torn by conflict and mistrust. The story of fear of ‘the other’ foe who is different will deconstruct you. The story of the impossible friendship. The story of a new normal.
Dead roses are melting down, getting liquified . This event goes against logic, because dead flowers are dry , not wet. Immersed in water they would turn putrid. they don't, and they have retained their beauty. A message of hope, that we can act consequently and respond to the urgency of climate change
Make Nature great again | Mixed Media
$2,000
30 X 23
“I tell the story of my life, and the world around me, and the need to narrate has become visceral.”
Home 2020 | Oil
$1,500
24 X 30
Home is the place that dramatic events have changed it so much you don't recognize it
Home is Nature, beautiful and resilient, challenged by the great dangers off climate change
Home is the homeland torn by division, conflicts, and mistrust
Home is place you have lost
Home is a place you don't have
Manuila’s process goes through two steps: first a digital study from photographs she has taken any time something triggers her interest. She uses various editing applications to give the images a new form. The second step is the physical painting, choosing between oil or mixed media pastel and gouache on watercolor paper.
After the storm the remains of dead roses and monarch butterflies depict the sad consequences of climate change. When Other Nature challenges us with extreme weather patterns she reminds us that the beauty and health of our environment are at stake
Tension | Mixed Media
$1,300
23 X 15
When looking for a somewhat looser more textural feel, Manuila uses pastel and gouache, alternating them in different layers. For applying the paint anything goes, sponges, tooth brush, paper towel, and brushes of all sizes and shapes. Sometimes she will even put the painting under the water faucet. Manuila paints poetry.
Nostalgia | Oil
$2,000
24 X 20
This is my self portrait with dead roses. As I was working on my face, I realized how much I look like my grandfather, same smile, same sad eyes. I had done a portrait of him a year before. Doing these two pantings brought back memories, and made me feel nostalgic
“By presenting my artwork with emotional energy, I engage my viewers and wonder about what they see and how they feel.”
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