ARTISTS BIO

Sandy Frank is an experienced artist known for her expertise in sculpting and drawing the human form. Sandy Frank brings over 35 years of dedicated artistic practice to her career. Her work has been showcased extensively both nationally and internationally. Notably, her solo exhibition "HandWork" at the Abrams Claghorn Gallery and Sonoma Academy Art Gallery garnered significant acclaim. Her pieces have also been highlighted at prestigious venues like Openings NYC in New York and the "Art as Messenger" exhibition at the CATO Institute in Washington DC. She also regularly shows with the Studio SF Gallery in San Francisco and OLI Gallery in Guerneville, CA.

Frank's educational background includes a BA in Illustration from the Academy of Art University and a BFA from the University of San Francisco. She has enriched her artistic skills through workshops with renowned sculptors such as Manuel Neri and Peter Rubino. Actively engaged in the artistic community, Frank has been a member of the San Francisco Sculpture Co-Op and the Nicasio Sculpture Group in Marin.

Throughout her career, Frank has shared her passion for art through teaching at all levels at home and abroad. She served as a professor at the Academy of Art University for over 12 years. She continues to inspire and educate through private workshops in figurative sculpture and drawing, fostering creativity across diverse age groups both locally and internationally. Sandy Frank's ongoing commitment to artistic exploration is underscored by her continued presence teaching with the non-profit FMA in San Francisco, and showing in gallery exhibitions, where her work continues to captivate audiences with its depth and innovation.

ARTIST’S STATEMENT

 

Sandy Frank’s evocative figural clay sculptures capture not only the external physical

manifestation and traits of what she is depicting, but they also capture the internal, spiritual and psychological physiognomies of her subject. They breathe for us. She uses her medium, the age old process of shaping clay, to ground herself so that she can connect a modern

consciousness to an ancient one.

 

Clay is luscious and sensuous. Frank fell in love with clay 30years ago while living for a time on the Caribbean island of Grenada. She worked with local artisans. There she learned from them. She went with them to dig up the clay, process it to create a workable medium and then worked with them to create and develop saleable art items.

 

Whether holding on, letting go or a simple gesture of support, the work is deliberate and

intentional. Frank has spent 10 years exclusively perfecting her technique in clay. She spends a lot of time with each piece to make each sculpture energetically and anatomically breathe and feel alive. She sculpts using live models and builds hollow with limited armature if any.

Perfecting technique constantly, she works with a variety of clay bodies and finishing techniques to get her desired effect. For instance, the white finish of Child Support reinforces the idea of purity while the dark grey, of Holding On, enhances the feel of a life lived that is worth clinging onto.

 

Clay is flexible in creating from life and imagination and Frank excels at combining both in a

believable way. She seeks to create beauty in her work but with some intrigue so that people

will look and see something and wonder about it and then look again.