Sandra Brewster is a Canadian visual artist based in Toronto, whose work has been exhibited nationally and abroad. Through her community-based practice, she engages with themes including identity, representation, and memory, centering a Black presence located in Canada. The daughter of Guyanese-born parents, she is especially attuned to the experiences of people of Caribbean heritage and their ongoing relationships with back home. Brewster’s meditations on being and place are expressed within her drawings, video, and photo-based mixed media works that range from 2-dimensional pieces to installations that incorporate the architecture of spaces.
Recent solo exhibitions include Blur at the Art Gallery of Ontario (2019/20), Token | Contemporary Ongoing at A Space Gallery in Toronto, Or Gallery in Vancouver and the Art Gallery of Guelph. Brewster’s work has been exhibited in group exhibitions including Identity in Flux, organized by VISART, Rajko MamuzićGallery, Novi Sad, Serbia; travelling to National Gallery of Macedonia Skoplje in Northern Macedonia; Tivat Cultural Center Gallery in Montenegro; and Here We Are Here: Black Canadian Contemporary Art, organized by the Royal Ontario Museum, travelled to Musée des beaux arts in Montreal, and the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, NFL, Canada (publication forthcoming). Her works have been featured at LagosPhoto Festival 2018 in Nigeria, Aljira Contemporary Art Center in New Jersey, and Allegheny Art Galleries in Meadville, Pennsylvania. Brewster’s exhibition It’s all a blur… received the Gattuso Prize for outstanding featured exhibition of CONTACT Photography Festival 2017. She was the 2018 recipient of the Artist Prize from Toronto Friends of the Visual Arts. Brewster’s work is in numerous public and private collections including the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX, USA and the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, ON, Canada.Her works are currently on view as part of Breaking The Frame, curated by Phillip Prodger, Royal Ontario Museum (through January 16, 2022) and Fragments of Epic Memory, curated by Julie Crooks, Art Gallery of Ontario (through February 21, 2022) and Blur, an installation in the atrium of Agnes Etherington Art Centre. Upcoming exhibitions include: Blur, Harnett Gallery, University of Rochester, NY, USA (2022); and, The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery, Toronto, ON, Canada (2022).
Photo: Jalani Morgan
Exhibitions
News Stories
- Sandra Brewster in Sediment: The Archive as a Fragmentary Base at Art Museum, UofT
- Sandra Brewster “Lullaby of Birdland” opens at Artpace San Antonio, TX
- Sandra Brewster “Take a Little Trip” at the Kenderdine Art Gallery, Saskatoon
- Sandra Brewster Shortlisted for the 2023 Scotiabank Photography Award
- Sandra Brewster in Artforum
- Sandra Brewster at Musee d’art Rouyn-Noranda
- Sandra Brewster and Luca Soldovieri in the “Imperfect Word”
- Sandra Brewster’s Blur 18
- Sandra Brewster’s Blur in Arles
- Sandra Brewster at the Arles Festival
Available Artworks
Claudia Jones, 2021
Sandra Brewsterphoto-based gel transfer on archival paper, edition of 3 45.75" x 38.25"
Frantz Fanon
Sandra Brewsterphoto-based gel transfer on archival paper, edition of 3 45.75" x 38.25"
Josephine Baker, 2021
Sandra Brewsterphoto-based gel transfer on archival paper, edition of 3 45.75" x 38.25"
Salome Bey, 2021
Sandra Brewsterphoto-based gel transfer on archival paper, edition of 3 45.75" x 38.25"
Minnie Riperton, 2021
Sandra Brewsterphoto-based gel transfer on archival paper, edition of 3 38.25" x 39"
Jean Michel Basquiat, 2021
Sandra Brewsterphoto-based gel transfer on archival paper, edition of 3 36.25" x 39.5"
artwork detail
Essequibo, 2019
Sandra Brewsterphoto-based gel transfer on mylar, acrylic paint, set of six, various sizes
Token (Handkerchief with Man), 2019
Sandra Brewsterphoto-based gel transfer on archival paper 7" x 10"
Untitled (token jewelery case), 2018
Sandra Brewsterphoto-based gel transfer on archival paper 7” x 10”