Sandra Strēle’s paintings are places where the visible and the imagined, the past and the future meet. At first glance they may be perceived as beautiful, quiet and atmospheric landscapes – spaces in which the viewer can simply remain and give in to colour, space, imagination and calm. Yet, when observed for longer, a multilayered world begins to unfold, with references to the artist’s own earlier works, images and motifs that move from one painting to the next.
Her works can be experienced on different levels: as landscapes, as atmospheric spaces or as an interconnected visual journey. This openness allows each viewer to find their own point of entry and creates a quiet conversation between the painting, the artist and the viewer.
Strēle is interested in closed, distanced and at times lonely places, their architecture, and fictional everyday scenes in which the viewer is offered the role of an observer. She creates large-scale installations rooted in classical painting – series of paintings in which one story transforms into another. These spaces also carry questions of feminism – about the body, presence, the gaze, vulnerability and women’s experience in space and time.
Sandra Strēle is a painter and graduate of the Art Academy of Latvia, where she received her professional Doctoral degree in Art in 2024. During her studies she also studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp through the Erasmus+ programme. While studying at the Art Academy of Latvia, Strēle received the Ināra Tetereva Scholarship in Art and the SEB Grant in Painting 2016. Her work has also received international recognition – the artist has been awarded Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation grants in Canada three times, in 2019, 2021, and 2025, as well as the Young Painter Prize in 2019. Since 2011 she has participated in group exhibitions and residencies in Latvia, Italy, Germany, France, Spain, the USA, the United Kingdom, Estonia, Lithuania, Norway, India and Belgium.
Artist’s works in SEB collection
No sērijas “Nenotikušās izstādes: Brikšņi” / From the series “Unrealised Exhibitions: Thickets”
Audekls, ūdens bāzes krāsas un pigmenti, akrila marķieri / Canvas, water-based paints and pigments, acrylic markers
200 × 435 cm
2022
No sērijas “Nostalģija” / From the series “Nostalgia”
Audekls, ūdens bāzes krāsas un pigmenti, akrila marķieri, akrila pasta, laka / Canvas, water-based paints and pigments, acrylic markers, acrylic paste, varnish
150 × 200 cm
2018
“Applūdusi izstāde” / “Flooded Exhibition”
Audekls, ūdens bāzes krāsas un pigmenti, akrila marķieri, laka / Canvas, water-based paints and pigments, acrylic markers, varnish
120 × 90 cm
2025
No sērijas “Mākslīgo margrietiņu lauks” / From the series “Field of Artificial Daisies”
Audekls, ūdens bāzes krāsas un pigmenti, akrila marķieri, laka / Canvas, water-based paints and pigments, acrylic markers, varnish
80 × 60 cm
2024
