Sandra Blow

Born in London in 1925, Blow left school at the age of 15. She went on to study at St Martin’s School of Art where she was mentored by Ruskin Spear and later, at the Royal Academy of Art. In 1947, she moved to Italy, which became the most significant influence on her oeuvre. Whilst in Italy, Blow studied Renaissance art and architecture which remained a pivotal inspiration throughout her career. She has talked of her time there as ‘pure paradise’; revelling in the colours and textures of the Mediterranean country. During her travels, Blow met and became romantically involved with Italian artist Alberto Burri, whose approach to art informel had a profound impact on her work. Burri was focused on the process of making art and the physical, material nature of the art itself; frequently using rough, unconventional materials such as sacking, cloth, plaster and tar. While Blow did not produce work of her own in Italy, she learnt a great deal from Burri and upon her return to London began to assert herself artistically, establishing herself to be at the forefront of the abstract movement in Britain. Blow has exhibited extensively all over the world, notably at The Institute of Contemporary Arts, The Tate Gallery, Camden Arts Centre, Gulbenkian Hall - Royal College of Art, The Hayward Gallery (London), The Royal Institute of Fine Arts (Glasgow), The Tate Gallery St Ives, The Newlyn Art Gallery (Cornwall), Galleria Origine, The Art Foundation (Rome), Palazzo Grassi (Venice), The Art Club (Chicago), Saidenburg Gallery, Albright Knox Gallery, Buffalo (New York), North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh (N. Carolina), The Carnegie Institute (Pittsburg), British Council Travelling Exhibitions to Canada, Australia & New Zealand and in The Stedelijk Museum (Amsterdam). In 1995 her international profile was raised still further when she completed a major commission to produce large screens for the Departure Lounge of London's Heathrow Airport