Sandy Gherardi is a Washington, DC area Fine Art Photographer. Primarily self-taught, her interest in photography began with a weekend Nikon School of Photography course in 1980. Two decades later, a digital arts course at the Corcoran School of Art unveiled an exciting new digital world. Though she enjoys photographing architecture, cityscapes and nature, her eye automatically gravitates to the abstract aspects of her subject. Capturing one of a kind Abstracts has become her passion.
At age five, Sandy was the tiny tot who attracted a crowd with her spontaneous dancing at the back of a theater. A theater arts major in college, Sandy always loved all forms of dance, musical theater, drama directing and drama criticism. As decades passed, her artistic expression gravitated from onstage and behind the stage to behind the lens. As she explores new venues for expressing her artistic vision, concerns about youthful missed opportunities fade.
Publications, Presentations
- Authored DRIVEN TO ABSTRACTION, Abstract Photographic Images, a 70-page color coffee table, hardback book
- Co-Presented Abstract Photography Workshops 2023, 2018
- Was Invited Guest Blogger for Rick Sammon Photography 2014
Exhibitions/ Awards/ Collections
Sandy's photographs have been juried into dozens of national and international gallery exhibitions, including 13 consecutive International Annual Abstract Exhibits 2010-2023 at the Joseph Miller Center for the Photographic Arts. (Two images were placed in their permanent collection and numerous others granted merit awards.)
In Light Space and Time Online Gallery's 14th Annual Cityscapes 2024 exhibition, Sandy's "The Big Apple" won Best In Show Overall & 1st Place in Photography & Digital out of 435 entries from 15 countries. Two other images won Special Merit and Special Recognition Awards in that competition. In LST's 15th Abstract Art Exhibition 2024, with 737 entries from 24 countries, Sandy won 5th Place in Photography & Digital, 11th Place Overall and Special Merit Awards for her images.
Sandy garnered 2nd Place and Honorable Mention awards in League of Reston Artists/Reston Photo Society's Annual Competition 2024, distinction in their 2023 Annual Competition, and 3rd Place in their 2023 Spring Exhibit.
In addition to being a finalist at Amazon Web Services AWSomeArt, Sandy’s art has been honored at Mid-Atlantic Photo Visions exhibits, Praxis Gallery, PhotoPlace Gallery, the Art League, Torpedo Factory, ArtSpace Herndon exhibits, Nature Visions Photo Expos, Stacy C. Sherwood Gallery, Buchanan Partners Art Gallery, Hylton Center for the Performing Arts, Jo Ann Rose Gallery, Reston Community Center, Ernst Community Cultural Center and the City of Fairfax "Spotlight On the Arts”. Her photographic art resides in private and corporate collections, as well as in the permanent collection of the Children’s National Medical Center, Washington, DC.
Memberships include:
- League of Reston Artists/ Reston Photo Society
- Artists Coalition of Fairfax
- Professional Photographers of America