Artist Statement
Born in Geneva, Switzerland of Romanian political refugees, Sanda Manuila experienced expatriation and isolation at a very early age. 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 stratus she also gained by studying art over many years and in different locations. She studied at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Bordeaux, France, Atelier Bessil in Montpellier, France, and at the Cornish Institute of the Arts in Seattle, WA. More recently she has traveled to Italy to study at the Angel Academy in Florence and in Rome Artworks in Rome. Additionally she participated in an Artist Residency at Dacia Gallery in NYC, and in Sibiu, Romania. She currently lives in Napa Valley, CA.
Manuila has participated in many exhibits, among which the Napa Valley Museum in Yountville, CA, the Marin Moca in Novato, CA, Art Works Downtown in San Rafael, the Southern Nevada Museum of Modern Art in Las Vegas, NV, Dacia Gallery and First St. Gallery in NYC, as well as Arc Gallery and Tides Converge Gallery in San Francisco, the Grand Central Theater art Center in Tracy, CA. and The De Young Museum in San Francisco, CA.
Sanda Manuila creates oil and pastel 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. Her 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. By charging her work with emotional energy, Manuila engages the viewers to wonder about what they see and how they feel.