Colorful, graphic abstraction that mixes formal play and precision through squeegeed, smeared paint

Who: Sigrid Sandström (Inman Gallery) is a Swedish painter, printmaker and a fine arts professor at the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm. She has awards including the Guggenheim Fellowship and a Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters and Sculptors Grant.

About the artist: The artist’s work has been featured internationally in museums including The Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm, Sweden; the Mills College Art Museum in Oakland, California; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; and the Frye Art Museum in Seattle, Washington. She recently installed a large piece in a River Oaks residence in Houston as part of a private project helmed by the Weingarten Art Group.

What she is known for: Her work is characterized by graphic abstraction, prominently utilizing both color and scale. She uses varying techniques to apply paint and other materials to canvas. In her paintings, she explores where the focus of the work should lie, both as a concept and an experience. Aside from painting and printmaking, she has also worked with film, video, sculpture and installation.

What’s being said about her: In an article for Glasstire, reporter Joshua Fischer writes:

“Sigrid Sandström’s abstract paintings are a dynamic mix of formal play and precision. Meticulously done in smooth layers of acrylic paint on board or panel, Sandström overlaps irregular shapes, thin masking tape lines and controlled swathes of squeegeed, smeared paint. Imagine the push/pull of Hans Hoffman, the mechanical/gestural stroke of Gerhard Richter and the compositions of Russian Suprematism all absorbed by Sandström and made fresh through deft handling and a unique compositional sense.”

Lead photo: Untitled, acrylic on polyester canvas. Photo courtesy of Inman Gallery.