Sandra Spannan, a native of Germany who has lived in NYC since 1993, is a painter, performer, and founder of the decorative painting company see. Painting, Inc.
As a decorative artist Sandra worked on legendary private Interiors such as the Anderson Cooper, Noam Goldmann, Rennert, Hess, Tom Hanks, and Billy Corgan Residences.
She has created sets for Martha Stewart, Michael J. Fox, photographer Marc Seliger and set designer Mary Howard.
Her large-scale commercial projects include work for the Williamsburg Savings Bank, the newly revived Diamond Horseshoe Club in the Paramount Hotel, the Whitney Museum, Saks Fifth Avenue, Victoria’s Secret, CHANEL stores, as well as hotels such as the Nu Hotel (Brooklyn), the Duane Street Hotel, and the ACE hotel.
Throughout her 20 years of experience as a gilder and art restorer, Sandra has developed a range of techniques that she applies to her work in fine art. Photorealistic images of nature details are the subjects of her artwork, which is created through the application of precious metals (such as 23-karat gold and palladium leaf) to custom steel and wood panels.
Sandra’s artwork and performances have been featured in group and solo shows in Germany, India and the USA.
Performances include: Vanessa Beecroft’s first NYC performance at Deitch Projects; the Love-a-Commuter project by Artist’s Space; window painting performances at Chashama on W 42nd Street and for the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council’s ‘Looking In’ series. Sandra’s ‘searching for sense’ performance is the subject of a documentary by Oscar-Nominee Katja Esson, which was featured in U.S. festivals, on Channel 13, and on Swiss and German television. INSIDE/OUT, a collaboration with Laura Barnett, took place in NYC windows (2005-06) and in Berlin’s Galerie Tristesse (2005). The New York Times featured INSIDE/OUT on the cover of the Arts Section in May ‘06 and Sylvia Plachy has photographed INSIDE/OUT artists for The New Yorker.
Sandra is a member of the Society of Gilders and won Sepp Leaf’s 2006 Pride of Place Competition Awards which honors America’s Best Gilding Artistry, Design and Decorative Finishing.
Her work has been featured in the United States in The New York Times, Architectural Digest, the cover of ARRAY, the New Yorker, Esquire, Vogue, Architectural Digest, Interior Design, Design Times, Paper, HARLEM BESPOKE, and Time Out Magazine. It has also been featured in foreign publications: Die Welt, TAZ-Tageszeitung, TIP, ZITTY, Berliner Morgenpost, and ALEGRA Magazine (Germany); Gulliver (Italy); and Hanatsubaki (Japan).
Sandra continues to learn how to beautify this universe by applying the skills she acquired from her studies at the University and Fachhochschule of Wuerzburg, Germany, the New York Academy of Art, New York, USA, and several workshops in Europe and the USA. She has honed her craft from her yearly extended visits to over 20 foreign countries (Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, North and South America)
Sandra currently lives in NYC with her husband, the musician TONY JARVIS and their two cute daughters KAYA and FIONA.
Check out her other gilding work at www.see-gold.com
