Bio
Born 1949. Lives and works in New Orleans, Louisiana. Sandra began her photographic career in 1978. She was Director of Photography at the Contemporary Arts Center in New Orleans from 1980 to 1985. Sandra taught photography at Loyola University in New Orleans in 1993-94 and private workshops in Venice, Italy. Her works have been exhibited widely in the United States and abroad in Italy at the 1989 Torino Fotografia Biennale Internationale; 1991 Braga Fotofestival, Portugal; Museum Ludwig, Koln; Altes Museum, Berlin, Germany; 1993 Museu du Imagem e do Som, Brazil ; 1998 Place du Forum, Rencontres Internationales de la Photographie d' Arles in France and in 2005 Stephanie Hoppen Gallery, London, England. Sandra's photographs have appeared in Vogue, Elle, The Traveler and American Artist magazines and numerous publications on photography.
During the 1980’s and ‘90’s Clark’s projects included, Louisiana Dreamscapes, The Sensual Touch, Diaries of an American Woman, Gardens of Reflection, Venice, A Vanishing Light and Elysium. Clark’s work was included in exhibitions in the United States at A Gallery for Fine Photography, New Orleans; Benteler-Morgan Gallery, Houston; Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans; New Orleans Museum of Art; Guild Hall Museum, East Hampton, New York; Robert Koch Gallery, San Francisco; Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, Winston-Salem, North Carolina and the Witkin Gallery in New York. The Sensual Touch was represented in the 1991 traveling exhibit , Bilder Lust, at the Museum Ludwig, Koln; Altes Museum, Berlin, Germany and a solo exhibit of Louisiana Dreamscapes were shown at the Museu du Imagem e do Som, Brazil in 1993.
In 1985 Clark received a grant from private sponsors to fund her European garden project Gardens of Reflection. A solo exhibition from the series opened at Julia Gallery in New Orleans in 1987 and traveled to Torino Italy in 1989. Between 1992 and 1994, under sponsorship of private and corporate patrons, Clark spent four months in Italy photographing Venice, A Vanishing Light. An exhibition opened at the Breedan Dawson Gallery in New Orleans and was included in Atlanta’s Month of Photography festival.
In the Fall of 1997 Louisiana State University Press published Ms. Clark’s book of photographs, Elysium, A Gathering of Souls, New Orleans Cemeteries. Elysium received the 1997 Mary Ellen LoPresti Award for Excellence in Art Publishing from the Art Libraries Society of North America. An exhibition opened at the Contemporary Arts Center in New Orleans that same year and had been traveling for the past fourteen years to galleries, museums and universities throughout the country mostly through the Southern Arts Federation in Atlanta, Ga. The 34 original images from the traveling exhibition were purchased in 2013 by the Historic New Orleans Collection for their permanent collection.
Ms. Clark moved to Bay St. Louis on the Mississippi Coast in 1998 and began work on In Search of Eden which was exhibited in 2001-06 at the Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson; Tulane University, Carroll Gallery, New Orleans; A Gallery for Fine Photography, New Orleans; Fay Gold Gallery, Atlanta; Photo NY, New York; Gallerie BMG, Woodstock, New York; Lionheart Gallery, Pound Ridge, New York and Stephanie Hoppen Gallery, London, England.
In August 2005 Sandra and her husband Evert, also an artist, lost their home, studios and most of their contents in hurricane Katrina. 30 years of work disappeared in a matter of hours. Sandra and Evert spent the next two years in Amagansett, NY with frequent trips back to the Gulf Coast to work on restoring their home and studios.
In 2006 Clark was invited to present Elysium as the keynote speaker at “The Creative Edge” conference at the Santa Fe Center for Photography. Her work was also exhibited at Andrew Smith Gallery in Santa Fe during this time. Sandra was an Artist Resident at Santa Fe Art Institute in 2006 and 2008. In 2009-2014 Sandra’s first color series Juju was exhibited at Diboll Art Gallery, Loyola University, New Orleans; Art Modern Gallery during Art Basel Miami and Scott Edwards Gallery, New Orleans. Clark’s work was also included during this time in exhibitions at Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans; Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson; Gallery Project, Ann Arbor; Mobile Museum of Art, Mobile; New Orleans Museum of Art and the New Orleans Photo Alliance. In the spring of 2012 Clark spent 2 months photographing in Italy. A solo exhibition of this work Venice, Traces and Italy, Grand Tour Remix was exhibited at LSU Museum of Art, Baton Rouge in 2015.
Clark’s photographs are included in museum, corporate and private collections in the U.S. and abroad including New Orleans Museum of Art; the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, New Orleans; The Historic New Orleans Collection; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson; William Benton Museum of Art, Storrs, Ct.; Memphis Brooks Museum, Tn; Guild Hall Museum, NY; Pennsylvania Art Conservatory, Pa., Princeton University Art Museum, N.J. among others.
Selected exhibitions
2020
Solo exhibit, Italy, Grand Tour Remix, PhotoNOLA 2020, Sullivan Gallery, New Orleans, La.
Solo exhibit, Vintage Photographs from In Search of Eden, Sullivan Gallery, New Orleans, La.
2016
La Femme, New Orleans Art Center, New Orleans, La.
Louisiana Photography Biennial, New Orleans Art Center, New Orleans, La.
2015
Sandra Russell Clark/Evert Witte, The Lionheart Gallery, Pound Ridge, New York
Venice,Traces: The Art of Sandra Russell Clark, solo exhibition in conjunction with An American in Venice: James McNeill Whistler and His Legacy, LSU Museum of Art, Baton Rouge, La.
A Tribute to Clarence John Laughlin, Scott Edwards Gallery, New Orleans, La.
2014
Prospect 3+, Imago Mundi, Luciano Benetton Collection, curated by Diego Cortez, New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, La.
Juju, Scott Edwards Gallery, solo exhibition in conjunction with PhotoNOLA, New Orleans, La.
2013
Traces, Boyd/Satellite gallery in conjunction with PhotoNOLA and Luna Press’ publication of Inventing Reality; New Orleans Visionary Photography
Inventing Reality, A Gallery for Fine Photography, New Orleans, La.
Art in Bloom, New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, La.
Sputnik 1, Boyd/Satellite Gallery, New Orleans , La.
2010
Pop-ology, Art Modern Gallery, Naples, Florida
Women Artists in Louisiana, 1965-2010 , New Orleans Museum of Art
Shoot’n Southern:Women Photographers Past and Present, Mobile Museum of Art, Mobile, Al.
Art by Choice, Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson, Ms.
Residents and Visitors: Twentieth Century Photographs of Louisiana, New Orleans Museum of Art
Pop-ology II, Verge Art Fair, Art Modern Gallery, Miami Beach during Art Basel.
2009
Photography 2009, Highlands Gallery, Jackson, Ms
The Push Pin Show, Photo Alliance, New Orleans
Shrines and Altars, Gallery Project, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Juju, Loyola University Diboll Art Gallery, New Orleans,La.
2008
U.S. Embassy in Cairo, Egypt, Art in Embassy Program
Artist in Residence exhibition, Santa Fe Art Institute, Santa Fe, New Mexico
2007
The Mississippi Story, Mississippi Museum of Art , Jackson, Ms.
Elysium exhibition and guest Lecturer, Rome Area History Museum, Ga.
2006
Women in Focus, Vicki Bassetti Gallery, New Orleans, La.
Surviving the Hurricane, Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans, La.
In Search of Eden, Gallerie BMG in Woodstock, New York
Elysium,Andrew Smith Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Artist in Residence exhibition, Santa Fe Art Institute, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Keynote speaker, Elysium presentation, The Creative Edge conference sponsored by the Santa Fe Center for Photography
2005
In Search of Eden, Stephanie Hoppen Gallery, London, England
In Search of Eden, Photo New York, Vicki Bassetti Gallery
* In August Clark and Witte lost their home, studios and most of their contents in hurricane Katrina. 30 years of work disappeared in a matter of hours. Sandra and Evert spent the next two years in Amagansett, NY with frequent trips back to the Gulf Coast to work on restoring their home and studios.
2004
In Search of Eden, Evans Gallery, New Orleans, La.
In Search of Eden, Gallery 119, Jackson, Ms.
2003
Work in Progress, Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson, Ms.
Waters Edge, Carroll Gallery, Tulane University, New Orleans, La.
In Search of Eden, Phototroph Gallery, Colorado Springs, Colo.
In Search of Eden, East End Gallery, Nantucket, Ma.
2001
In Search of Eden, Mississippi Invitational, Mississippi Museum of Art, curated by Louis Grachos, Director of SITE Santa Fe
Elysium, Clark Hall Gallery, Southeastern Louisiana University, Hammond, La.
Group Exhibit, AIPAD NY, Fay Gold Gallery
2000
Group Exhibition, A Gallery for Fine Photography, New Orleans, La.
Elysium, Louisiana Arts and science Museum, Baton Rouge, La.
1999
Elysium, Ameen Art Gallery, Nicholls State University, Thibodeaux
1998
Elysium, exhibition and guest lecturer, William Benton Museum of Art, Storrs, Conn.
Elysium, slide presentation, Place du Forum, Recontres Internationales de la Photographie d' Arles in France
Elysium, New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival,New Orleans, La.
1997
Elysium, solo exhibition, Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans, La.
Elysium, A Gallery for Fine Photography, New Orleans, La.
1996 –1980
Clark’s projects included, Louisiana Dreamscapes, Gardens of Reflection, and Venice, A Vanishing Light , all of which have been included in numerous exhibitions in galleries and museums throughout the United States. Sandra's Garden of Reflections was chosen to represent the Houston Fotofest in Italy at the 1989 Torino Fotografia Biennale Internationale; Diaries of an American Woman was presented at the 1991 Braga Fotofestival, Portugal; The Sensual Touch was represented in the 1991 traveling exhibit , Builder Lust, at the Museum Ludwig, Koln; Altes Museum, Berlin, Germany and a solo exhibit of Louisiana Dreamscapes were shown at the Museu du Imagem e do Som, Brazil in 1993.
Museum collections
New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, La.
Ogden Museum, New Orleans, La.
Historic New Orleans Collection, New Orleans, La.
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Tx.
Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson, MS
Memphis Brooks Museum, Memphis, Tenn.
Guild Hall Museum, Easthampton, N.Y.
William Benton Museum of Art, Storrs, Conn.
Pennsylvania Art Conservatory, Pa.
Princeton University Art Museum, N.J.
Corporate
Paine Webber, New York, Chicago, Florida, New Orleans
IBM, Washington, D.C.
R.J. Reynolds, N.C.
AT&T, Tx.
Prudential Insurance Company, N.J.
Atlantic Richfield
Banana Republic, Ca.
Saks Fifth Avenue, NY.
Collections abroad
Luciano Benetton Collection, Italy
Uwe Scheid Collection, Germany
Alumni, Brazil
Honors
2008- Artist Residency, Santa Fe Art Institute, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Artist Grant, Mississippi Arts Council
2006 -Artist Grant, Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans,La.
Artist Grant, Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston,Texas
Artist Residency, Santa Fe Art Institute, Santa Fe, New Mexico
1998&1988- “Artist Profile” film from WYES-TV
1997- Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities-Mini Grant
1997- The Mary Ellen LoPresti Award for Excellence in Art Publishing from the Southeast Chapter of the Art Libraries Society of North America for “Elysium, A Gathering of Souls, New Orleans Cemeteries”
1996- Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities-Research and Publication Grant
1985- American Photographer magazine “New Faces” nominee
1983 -“Artist Fellowship” Louisiana State Arts Council
Born 1949. Lives and works in New Orleans, Louisiana. Sandra began her photographic career in 1978. She was Director of Photography at the Contemporary Arts Center in New Orleans from 1980 to 1985. Sandra taught photography at Loyola University in New Orleans in 1993-94 and private workshops in Venice, Italy. Her works have been exhibited widely in the United States and abroad in Italy at the 1989 Torino Fotografia Biennale Internationale; 1991 Braga Fotofestival, Portugal; Museum Ludwig, Koln; Altes Museum, Berlin, Germany; 1993 Museu du Imagem e do Som, Brazil ; 1998 Place du Forum, Rencontres Internationales de la Photographie d' Arles in France and in 2005 Stephanie Hoppen Gallery, London, England. Sandra's photographs have appeared in Vogue, Elle, The Traveler and American Artist magazines and numerous publications on photography.
During the 1980’s and ‘90’s Clark’s projects included, Louisiana Dreamscapes, The Sensual Touch, Diaries of an American Woman, Gardens of Reflection, Venice, A Vanishing Light and Elysium. Clark’s work was included in exhibitions in the United States at A Gallery for Fine Photography, New Orleans; Benteler-Morgan Gallery, Houston; Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans; New Orleans Museum of Art; Guild Hall Museum, East Hampton, New York; Robert Koch Gallery, San Francisco; Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, Winston-Salem, North Carolina and the Witkin Gallery in New York. The Sensual Touch was represented in the 1991 traveling exhibit , Bilder Lust, at the Museum Ludwig, Koln; Altes Museum, Berlin, Germany and a solo exhibit of Louisiana Dreamscapes were shown at the Museu du Imagem e do Som, Brazil in 1993.
In 1985 Clark received a grant from private sponsors to fund her European garden project Gardens of Reflection. A solo exhibition from the series opened at Julia Gallery in New Orleans in 1987 and traveled to Torino Italy in 1989. Between 1992 and 1994, under sponsorship of private and corporate patrons, Clark spent four months in Italy photographing Venice, A Vanishing Light. An exhibition opened at the Breedan Dawson Gallery in New Orleans and was included in Atlanta’s Month of Photography festival.
In the Fall of 1997 Louisiana State University Press published Ms. Clark’s book of photographs, Elysium, A Gathering of Souls, New Orleans Cemeteries. Elysium received the 1997 Mary Ellen LoPresti Award for Excellence in Art Publishing from the Art Libraries Society of North America. An exhibition opened at the Contemporary Arts Center in New Orleans that same year and had been traveling for the past fourteen years to galleries, museums and universities throughout the country mostly through the Southern Arts Federation in Atlanta, Ga. The 34 original images from the traveling exhibition were purchased in 2013 by the Historic New Orleans Collection for their permanent collection.
Ms. Clark moved to Bay St. Louis on the Mississippi Coast in 1998 and began work on In Search of Eden which was exhibited in 2001-06 at the Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson; Tulane University, Carroll Gallery, New Orleans; A Gallery for Fine Photography, New Orleans; Fay Gold Gallery, Atlanta; Photo NY, New York; Gallerie BMG, Woodstock, New York; Lionheart Gallery, Pound Ridge, New York and Stephanie Hoppen Gallery, London, England.
In August 2005 Sandra and her husband Evert, also an artist, lost their home, studios and most of their contents in hurricane Katrina. 30 years of work disappeared in a matter of hours. Sandra and Evert spent the next two years in Amagansett, NY with frequent trips back to the Gulf Coast to work on restoring their home and studios.
In 2006 Clark was invited to present Elysium as the keynote speaker at “The Creative Edge” conference at the Santa Fe Center for Photography. Her work was also exhibited at Andrew Smith Gallery in Santa Fe during this time. Sandra was an Artist Resident at Santa Fe Art Institute in 2006 and 2008. In 2009-2014 Sandra’s first color series Juju was exhibited at Diboll Art Gallery, Loyola University, New Orleans; Art Modern Gallery during Art Basel Miami and Scott Edwards Gallery, New Orleans. Clark’s work was also included during this time in exhibitions at Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans; Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson; Gallery Project, Ann Arbor; Mobile Museum of Art, Mobile; New Orleans Museum of Art and the New Orleans Photo Alliance. In the spring of 2012 Clark spent 2 months photographing in Italy. A solo exhibition of this work Venice, Traces and Italy, Grand Tour Remix was exhibited at LSU Museum of Art, Baton Rouge in 2015.
Clark’s photographs are included in museum, corporate and private collections in the U.S. and abroad including New Orleans Museum of Art; the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, New Orleans; The Historic New Orleans Collection; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson; William Benton Museum of Art, Storrs, Ct.; Memphis Brooks Museum, Tn; Guild Hall Museum, NY; Pennsylvania Art Conservatory, Pa., Princeton University Art Museum, N.J. among others.
Selected exhibitions
2020
Solo exhibit, Italy, Grand Tour Remix, PhotoNOLA 2020, Sullivan Gallery, New Orleans, La.
Solo exhibit, Vintage Photographs from In Search of Eden, Sullivan Gallery, New Orleans, La.
2016
La Femme, New Orleans Art Center, New Orleans, La.
Louisiana Photography Biennial, New Orleans Art Center, New Orleans, La.
2015
Sandra Russell Clark/Evert Witte, The Lionheart Gallery, Pound Ridge, New York
Venice,Traces: The Art of Sandra Russell Clark, solo exhibition in conjunction with An American in Venice: James McNeill Whistler and His Legacy, LSU Museum of Art, Baton Rouge, La.
A Tribute to Clarence John Laughlin, Scott Edwards Gallery, New Orleans, La.
2014
Prospect 3+, Imago Mundi, Luciano Benetton Collection, curated by Diego Cortez, New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, La.
Juju, Scott Edwards Gallery, solo exhibition in conjunction with PhotoNOLA, New Orleans, La.
2013
Traces, Boyd/Satellite gallery in conjunction with PhotoNOLA and Luna Press’ publication of Inventing Reality; New Orleans Visionary Photography
Inventing Reality, A Gallery for Fine Photography, New Orleans, La.
Art in Bloom, New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, La.
Sputnik 1, Boyd/Satellite Gallery, New Orleans , La.
2010
Pop-ology, Art Modern Gallery, Naples, Florida
Women Artists in Louisiana, 1965-2010 , New Orleans Museum of Art
Shoot’n Southern:Women Photographers Past and Present, Mobile Museum of Art, Mobile, Al.
Art by Choice, Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson, Ms.
Residents and Visitors: Twentieth Century Photographs of Louisiana, New Orleans Museum of Art
Pop-ology II, Verge Art Fair, Art Modern Gallery, Miami Beach during Art Basel.
2009
Photography 2009, Highlands Gallery, Jackson, Ms
The Push Pin Show, Photo Alliance, New Orleans
Shrines and Altars, Gallery Project, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Juju, Loyola University Diboll Art Gallery, New Orleans,La.
2008
U.S. Embassy in Cairo, Egypt, Art in Embassy Program
Artist in Residence exhibition, Santa Fe Art Institute, Santa Fe, New Mexico
2007
The Mississippi Story, Mississippi Museum of Art , Jackson, Ms.
Elysium exhibition and guest Lecturer, Rome Area History Museum, Ga.
2006
Women in Focus, Vicki Bassetti Gallery, New Orleans, La.
Surviving the Hurricane, Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans, La.
In Search of Eden, Gallerie BMG in Woodstock, New York
Elysium,Andrew Smith Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Artist in Residence exhibition, Santa Fe Art Institute, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Keynote speaker, Elysium presentation, The Creative Edge conference sponsored by the Santa Fe Center for Photography
2005
In Search of Eden, Stephanie Hoppen Gallery, London, England
In Search of Eden, Photo New York, Vicki Bassetti Gallery
* In August Clark and Witte lost their home, studios and most of their contents in hurricane Katrina. 30 years of work disappeared in a matter of hours. Sandra and Evert spent the next two years in Amagansett, NY with frequent trips back to the Gulf Coast to work on restoring their home and studios.
2004
In Search of Eden, Evans Gallery, New Orleans, La.
In Search of Eden, Gallery 119, Jackson, Ms.
2003
Work in Progress, Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson, Ms.
Waters Edge, Carroll Gallery, Tulane University, New Orleans, La.
In Search of Eden, Phototroph Gallery, Colorado Springs, Colo.
In Search of Eden, East End Gallery, Nantucket, Ma.
2001
In Search of Eden, Mississippi Invitational, Mississippi Museum of Art, curated by Louis Grachos, Director of SITE Santa Fe
Elysium, Clark Hall Gallery, Southeastern Louisiana University, Hammond, La.
Group Exhibit, AIPAD NY, Fay Gold Gallery
2000
Group Exhibition, A Gallery for Fine Photography, New Orleans, La.
Elysium, Louisiana Arts and science Museum, Baton Rouge, La.
1999
Elysium, Ameen Art Gallery, Nicholls State University, Thibodeaux
1998
Elysium, exhibition and guest lecturer, William Benton Museum of Art, Storrs, Conn.
Elysium, slide presentation, Place du Forum, Recontres Internationales de la Photographie d' Arles in France
Elysium, New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival,New Orleans, La.
1997
Elysium, solo exhibition, Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans, La.
Elysium, A Gallery for Fine Photography, New Orleans, La.
1996 –1980
Clark’s projects included, Louisiana Dreamscapes, Gardens of Reflection, and Venice, A Vanishing Light , all of which have been included in numerous exhibitions in galleries and museums throughout the United States. Sandra's Garden of Reflections was chosen to represent the Houston Fotofest in Italy at the 1989 Torino Fotografia Biennale Internationale; Diaries of an American Woman was presented at the 1991 Braga Fotofestival, Portugal; The Sensual Touch was represented in the 1991 traveling exhibit , Builder Lust, at the Museum Ludwig, Koln; Altes Museum, Berlin, Germany and a solo exhibit of Louisiana Dreamscapes were shown at the Museu du Imagem e do Som, Brazil in 1993.
Museum collections
New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, La.
Ogden Museum, New Orleans, La.
Historic New Orleans Collection, New Orleans, La.
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Tx.
Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson, MS
Memphis Brooks Museum, Memphis, Tenn.
Guild Hall Museum, Easthampton, N.Y.
William Benton Museum of Art, Storrs, Conn.
Pennsylvania Art Conservatory, Pa.
Princeton University Art Museum, N.J.
Corporate
Paine Webber, New York, Chicago, Florida, New Orleans
IBM, Washington, D.C.
R.J. Reynolds, N.C.
AT&T, Tx.
Prudential Insurance Company, N.J.
Atlantic Richfield
Banana Republic, Ca.
Saks Fifth Avenue, NY.
Collections abroad
Luciano Benetton Collection, Italy
Uwe Scheid Collection, Germany
Alumni, Brazil
Honors
2008- Artist Residency, Santa Fe Art Institute, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Artist Grant, Mississippi Arts Council
2006 -Artist Grant, Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans,La.
Artist Grant, Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston,Texas
Artist Residency, Santa Fe Art Institute, Santa Fe, New Mexico
1998&1988- “Artist Profile” film from WYES-TV
1997- Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities-Mini Grant
1997- The Mary Ellen LoPresti Award for Excellence in Art Publishing from the Southeast Chapter of the Art Libraries Society of North America for “Elysium, A Gathering of Souls, New Orleans Cemeteries”
1996- Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities-Research and Publication Grant
1985- American Photographer magazine “New Faces” nominee
1983 -“Artist Fellowship” Louisiana State Arts Council
