Sandra Cavanagh

Sandra Cavanagh’s career began in 1997, after completing a Foundation in Fine Arts and a BA degree from the Kent Institute of Art and Design, University of Kent, UK. Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Cavanagh’s first two decades were pitched on the tensions between a loving family life and constant political upheavals, unrestrained military governments, and the ominous danger of politically sanctioned brutality and censorship. She read Social Sciences at the University of Belgrano, Buenos Aires, before emigrating to California and later to the UK, where she completed studies in Fine Art. She returned to full residency in the United States in 2010 and has worked and resided in New York City ever since.


Artist Statement

I sustain a mostly figurative focus in reaction to current and historical narratives, including my own. Recent global events have led me to considerations of mortality and loss of innocence in transgenerational stories, the usefulness of art’s centuries-old regard of myth, foundational stereotypes, and the mundane occurrence of violence.
Maintaining a consistent practice, I have developed a large portfolio of work, including paintings, drawings, and prints. I take intervals with the painting of still life and portraiture.
Interested in the pairing of form and message, and formal variations on a theme, I have often worked in series, creating pictorial storylines with some urgency to exhaust the subject and form to the point of understanding or unburdening myself of it. The result is an annotation of feelings underscoring a dramatic approach to form and message.


www.sandracavanagh.com