Artist Statement
My artistic practice is a dialogue with the natural world, a realm where I draw endless inspiration. I translate my awe of nature into both clay and fiber sculptures, where the inherent tactility and organic essence of wet clay and felted wool, with other natural fibers, echo the intricate textures and interconnectedness I see in nature.
My artwork shifts between realistic representation and an abstract exploration of these textures, movements, and patterns. Through direct observation and working from nature photographs, I become intimately familiar with the natural structures that are depicted in my work. However, these structures can also break down into separate patterns and forms that I reinterpret into more abstracted sculptural works.
Underlying the beauty of nature is a constant reminder of its profound fragility. The rhythms sustaining our world are increasingly threatened by the impacts of climate change and pervasive human intervention. Through my clay and fiber sculptural narratives, I strive to open a discussion about our role and responsibility for our impact on the environment, not only as an ecological concern, but as an essential step for the survival of our complex and interconnected ecosystems.
Equally vital to my dialogue with the natural world is my relationship with my materials. Constant experimentation and layering of processes often yield unexpected results. I blend wool through wet felting, embellish with hand and machine stitching, and manipulate fabric to emulate nature’s patterns. By incorporating natural wood, I ground these soft fiber elements, completing the tactile vocabulary of my art.
By transforming my materials into a tangible expression of both beauty and urgent truth, I seek to foster a renewed sense of wonder of the natural world and spark a crucial conversation about environmental stewardship.
Sandra Giunta is a self-taught, Brooklyn-based artist whose work is born from deep experimentation, exploration, and a profound connection to the natural world. Defined by material exploration and environmental advocacy, her visually compelling work encourages discussion about the planet’s most fragile ecosystems.
For fifteen years, Sandra worked primarily in clay, beginning this journey after a career as an educator and Instructional Technology Coordinator in upstate New York. The self-driven leap into ceramics was one of learning, research, and material experimentation, culminating in an expansive series of coral-inspired sculptures. Conceived while living in Belize, where she witnessed the beauty and decline of the Mesoamerican Reef firsthand, she used clay to bring the corals to the surface. These intricate forms serve as a powerful reminder of the threats our reefs face due to human impact and climate change.
Sandra’s practice took a significant shift in 2021. Upon leaving Belize and moving to Brooklyn, she transitioned from the earth of clay to embrace the fibers of textiles. Her current body of biophilic work investigates the forest biome, focusing not only on the hidden, interconnected life of mycelium and fungi but also on the essential natural cycles of life, death, decay, and rebirth. These textile pieces explore the delicate, vital networks that bind ecosystems together and acknowledge how human impact is severing these critical connections.
Sandra has won awards for both her clay and textile work and has exhibited in numerous galleries, art fairs, and open studios. She lives and works in Brooklyn, creating from her studio in Red Hook.
Artist Bio
Artist CV
Recent Shows
2025
Fiber in Focus, New York Textile Month, Brooklyn, NY
Under the Same Canopy, Two Artists, Two Visions with Risa Glickman, Van Brunt St., Brooklyn, NY
Echoes of Eden, Galerie Lucida, Red Bank, NY
Surface, Yellow River Gallery, Cross River, NY
WAH Artist Salon 2025, Williamsburg Art and Historical Center, Brooklyn, NY
6th Edition Art Fair 14c, 14C Project, Jersey City, NJ
Fungi, Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition, Brooklyn, NY
136th Annual Exhibition, National Association of Women Artists, Leonovich Gallery, Chelsea, NYC
2024
Salon des Refusés 2024, Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition, Brooklyn, NY
The Other Art Fair, Brooklyn, NY
135th Annual Exhibition, National Association for Women Artists, One Art Space Gallery, NYC
2023
Emerging, Gowanus Dredgers Boathouse with Alise Loebelsohn (two-person exhibition), Brooklyn, NY
134th Annual Exhibition, National Association for Women Artists, One Art Space Gallery, NYC
Beyond Mud, National Art Show juried by Talia Shiroma of the Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition, Brooklyn, NY
2022
Au•to•di•dact, Court Tree Collective Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
Then and Now, Monmouth Museum, Lincroft , NJ
Color Recall, St. Joseph’s University Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
On the Edge, Gallery 26 at the Historic Vendue Art Hotel, Charleston, SC
Harmony, Banana Factory, Bethlehem, PA
2021
132nd Annual Exhibition, National Association for Women Artists, One Art Space Gallery, NYC
2020
Work Created During the Lockdown Period, Williamsburg Art and Historical Center, Brooklyn, NY. Juror: Paulina Pobocha, Curator of the MoMA
131st Annual Members Exhibition, National Association of Women Artists, NYC
*Note: Due to Covid lockdown, this annual exhibit was presented online.
2019
Women Forward, Innovative Women Part 2, Williamsburg Art and Historical Center, Curator: Yuko Nii, Brooklyn, NY
Wide Open 10, Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition, Brooklyn, NY. Juror: Ylinka Baroto, Asst.Curator, Guggenheim Museum
Sculpture: On and Off the Wall, National Association of Women Artists, NYC
2018
Wide Open 9, Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition, Brooklyn, NY
Color: Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition, Brooklyn, NY. Juror: Marcela Guerrero, Asst. Curator, Whitney Museum of American Art
Material Matters, Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition, Brooklyn, NY. Juror: Melissa Stern
Form and Function, Sweet Loraine Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
Awards
2025
Dame Vivienne Westwood Award, “Epiphytes 11,” National Association for Women Artists, 136th Annual Exhibition, Leonovich Gallery, Chelsea, NYC
2024
Elise Wiarda Award for Healing in Fiber Arts, “Coral Group 3,” National Association for Women Artists, 135th Annual Exhibition, One Art Space , NYC
2023
The Bernadette Award: Any Medium, “Gradations 14,” National Association for Women Artists, 134th Annual Exhibition, One Art Space Gallery, NYC
2022
Second Place, “Coral Reminder 36,” Harmony, The Crayola Gallery at the Banana Factory, Bethlehem, PA
Kaufman Award for Ceramic Sculpture, “In Your Hands 7,” National Association for Women Artists, 133rd Annual Exhibition, One Art Space Gallery, NYC
2021
Linda Steiner Sculpture Award, “Emanation 1,” National Association for Women Artists, 132nd Annual Exhibition, One Art Space Gallery, NYC
2020
Beatrice G. Epstein Sculpture Award, “Coral Reminders 39,” National Association for Women Artists, 131st Annual Exhibition, NYC
2019
Third Place: Sculpture On and Off the Wall, ”Coralized 10,” New Members Show, National Association for Women Artists Gallery, NYC
2018
Certificate of Recognition, Juror: Carmen Hermo, the Brooklyn Museum’s Asst. Curator for the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, Brooklyn, NY
2011
Third Place Sculpture, “Coralized 7,” Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition, Brooklyn, NY
2009
Third Place Sculpture, “Surma Tribute: Leaf,” Warwick Art League, Lycian Center for the Performing Arts Gallery, Warwick, NY
Press
Artsy Shark: “Artists on Climate Change” Link: “Art About Climate Change”
NAWA Now Quarterly, Summer 2021, “Shout Out: Sandra Giunta”
New Visionary Art Magazine, Issue 9, Winter 2024
Permanent Collections
The Yuko Nii Foundation, Brooklyn, NY
Private Collectors