Sandra Cinto

Brazilian, born 1968

© 2009 Sandra Cinto, courtesy Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York. Photograph by Jean Vong.

Tempest in Red, 2009

Acrylic and permanent pen on canvas
63 x 98 inches (160 x 248.9 cm)
Elisabeth H. Gates Fund, by exchange, Fellows for Life Fund, by exchange, James G. Forsyth Fund, by exchange, Gift of Demotte and Company, by exchange, Charles Clifton and James G. Forsyth Fund, by exchange, George Cary Fund, by exchange, Gift of Mr. and, 2011

Sandra Cinto feels a connection to the act of drawing, but does not limit herself to a single medium or to two-dimensional surfaces. Often using existing architecture as a kind of canvas from which her narratives emerge, she creates worlds that merge myth, dream, and reality. Her menagerie of imagery often wanders onto nearby furniture, incorporating found objects to create an immersive environment in which domesticity meets Surrealism. In her work, Cinto culls inspiration from historical influences and integrates it into a commentary on contemporary society. For The difficult journey-after Géricault, her 2008 exhibition at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery in New York, Cinto created an installation that incorporated photography, sculpture, painting, and drawing and aimed to present “a visual narrative of birth and origin, journey and difficulty, and finally the potential of solace and redemption.” Using Théodore Géricault’s iconic painting The Raft of the Medusa, 1818–19, as both an inspiration and a point of departure—most prevalent in the imagery of turbulent, swelling seascapes in the installation—Cinto addresses modern day issues of immigration. Tempest in Red, 2009, is reminiscent of this imagery in its swirling patterns of angry red waves. Its commanding presence, like her large-scale installations, engulfs the viewer.

More about the artist

Sandra Cinto was born in Santo André, Brazil, in 1968. She studied art at the Faculdades Integradas Teresa D’Ávila, San André, Brazil. She also received fellowships from Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris (2000–01) and Civitella Ranieri Foundation (2005). Solo exhibitions of Cinto’s work have been presented at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York (2011); Instituto Tomie Ohtake, São Paulo (2010); Mairie du 8ème, Paris (2009); and Museum of Contemporary Art Union Fenosa, La Coruña, Spain (2007). Her work has also been included in numerous group exhibitions, both nationally and internationally. Cinto was recently commissioned to create an outdoor public work for Parque Leopoldina in São Paulo (When The Night Comes Into My Room, 2010) and one for the SESC swimming pool in Santo André (Japonism, 2010). Her work is held in a number of museum collections, including The Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston; the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego; Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo; Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro; and Instituto Inhotim, Brumadinho, Brazil, among others. Cinto currently lives and works in São Paulo, Brazil.