Born in 1991 in Stockholm, Sweden
Lives and works in London, United Kingdom
Sara Anstis uses sensuous soft pastels and oil paint to build worlds that set the stage for explorations of subjectivity, mythology, and ecology. Utilizing the visual language of folklore and dream, Anstis’s paintings and site-specific installations weave together surreal landscapes, deftly lit figures, anthropomorphic flora, and symbolic objects that vibrate both materially and narratively.
Anstis is a Stockholm-born and Salt Spring Island-raised artist. She received a BFA in Studio Art and Sociology at Concordia University (Montreal, CA) in 2013 and an MFA in Fine Art from Valand Academy (Gothenburg, SE) in 2016. In 2018, she completed the Drawing Year Postgraduate Programme at the Royal Drawing School (London, UK). Anstis has had solo shows at Kasmin, New York; Various Small Fires, Los Angeles and Seoul; Bradley Ertaskiran, Montreal; and Fabian Lang, Zurich. Recent group exhibitions include those held at Victoria Miro, Venice; Gallery Raphael Durazzo, Paris; Kunstnerforbundet, Oslo; Kasmin, New York; Galerie Derouillon, Paris; Lyles & King, New York; and Palazzo Monti, Brescia. She has received grants from the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation, Jerwood Arts Bursary, and the Anna-Lisa Thomson Foundation amongst others.
education
2018 The Drawing Year, The Royal Drawing School, London, United Kingdom
2016 MFA, Valand Academy, Gothenburg, Sweden
2013 BFA, Concordia University, Montréal, Canada
solo shows
2025
- Bath, Perrotin, Tokyo
2024
- Small Works, Kasmin, New York, NY, USA
2023
- The Petal and the Wrist, Various Small Fires, Los Angeles, CA, USA
2022
- Procession, Kasmin, New York, NY, USA
- Bundle, Various Small Fires (VSF), Seoul, South Korea
2021
- A Great Relief, Bradley Ertaskiran, Montréal, Canada
- Pencil of Rays, Fabian Lang Gallery, Zurich, Switzerland
2020
- Discrete, Nevven Gallery, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Sara Anstis and Neal Tait: Comings and Goings, Fabian Lang Gallery, Zurich, Switzerland
2019
- Slip spill, 650mAh, Hove/Brighton, United Kingdom
- Sara Anstis and Christopher Davison, HARPY Gallery, Rutherford, NJ, USA
group shows
2024
- Licked by the Waves | New Bathers in Art, Museum MORE, Gorssel, Netherlands
- Full Disclosure: Selections from the Thomas-Suwall Collection, Plains Art Museum, Fargo, ND
2023
- Revival I – XVIIIe siècle, Gowen Contemporary, Geneva, Switzerland
2022
- I is Other, Lyles & King, New York, NY
2021
- Fully Awake 6.6, Holden Gallery, Manchester School of Art, Manchester, United Kingdom
- Intimitet og nærhet, Kunstnerforbundet, Oslo, Norway
- North by Northeast: Contemporary Canadian Painting, Kasmin, New York, NY
- Just As I Am, 1969 Gallery, New York, NY
- Canons, Galerie Derouillon, Paris, France
2020
- #WIP: Work in Progress/Working Process, QAP (Queer Art Projects) (online)
- Transatlantico, Mana Contemporary in partnership with Palazzo Monti, Jersey City, NJ
- Monster/Beauty: An Exploration of the Female/Femme Gaze, Lychee One, London, United Kingdom
- I WANT TO FEEL ALIVE AGAIN, Lyles & King, New York, NY
- Life Still, organized by Jonathan Travis (online)
- Habitual, Castor Projects, London, United Kingdom
2019
- Palazzo Monti x The Great Women Artists Residency Exhibition, Palazzo Monti, Brescia, Italy
- BIG PAINTING, organized by Jonathan Travis, Patrick Parrish Gallery, New York, NY
- The Self, the Work, the World, Fabian Lang Gallery, Zurich, Switzerland
- Animal Idealism, HARPY Gallery, Rutherford, NJ
- Den Tänkande Handen (The Thinking Hand), Gustav III’s Museum of Antiquities, The Royal Palace, Stockholm, Sweden
- Gestures of Comfort, Galerie Antoine Ertaskiran, Montréal, Canada
- Summer Will Have Its Flies, Subsidiary Projects, London, United Kingdom Drawing Marathon Exhibition, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
2018
- drawings, 650mAh, Hove, United Kingdom The Drawing Year 2017-18, The Royal Drawing School, London, United Kingdom
- Best of the Drawing Year, Christie’s, London, United Kingdom
- Works on Paper, BEERS Gallery, London, United Kingdom
- I Will Survive, Alta Art Space and Galleri CC, Malmö, Sweden
2016
- Grant Recipients 2016 - Stiftelsen Anna-Lisa Thomson Till Minne, Uppsala Art Museum, Sweden
- A place forgotten by many, Gothenburg Konsthall Reading Room, Sweden
- Enact, Valand Academy MFA Thesis Exhibition, Gothenburg Konsthall, Sweden
- Grant Recipients’ Exhibition, The Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Stockholm, Sweden
2015
- CAN YOU DIG IT?, Vasagatan 33, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Ways of Drawing, Oslo National Academy of the Arts, Oslo, Norway
2013
- 11th Annual Graduating Students Exhibition, VAV Gallery, Montréal, Canada
- Ill Palette, Eastern Bloc, Montréal, Canada
public collections
Uppsala Art Museum, Sweden
The Royal Collection, United Kingdom
awards
2019
Palazzo Monti x The Great Women Artists, Brescia, Italy, Selected by Katy Hessel
El Segundo Museum of Art, California, Awarded by the Royal Drawing School Residency Jury
Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI, StudioResidency for The Drawing Marathon Winter Course, Awarded by the Royal Drawing School Residency Jury
Jerwood Arts Bursary
Shortlisted for Den Tänkande Handen (The Thinking Hand) drawing grant, the Royal Academy of Fine Arts and the Royal Court, Sweden
2018
Fredrika Bremer Förbundet stipend
2016
Kunstnarhuset Messen, Ålvik, Norway
Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant
Anna-Lisa Thomson stipendium
Kerstin Lind-Pafumis stipendium
Bertha Neuberghs stipendium, Valand Academy
Holck, Fredriksson/Hilleström stipendium, Konstakademien
2014
Otto och Charlotte Mannheimers fond grant, Gothenburg
2013
Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant
Lise-Hélène Larin Drawing Prize, Concordia University
2012
British Columbia Arts Council Senior Award
Cecil Buller – John J.A. Murphy Scholarship in Drawing, Concordia University
Bank of Montréal Bursary, Concordia University
2011
Fine Arts Student Association Special Projects Grant, Concordia University
Morley and Rita Cohen Foundation Bursary, Concordia University
2010
British Columbia Arts Council Junior Award
Faculty of Fine Arts Development Fund Bursary, Concordia University
Fine Arts Student Association Special Projects Grant, Concordia University
2009
British Columbia Arts Council Junior Award
Salt Spring Island Arts Council Scholarship