Mandy Sand

• Name — Mandy Sand • Birth Name — Mandy Sandulovici • Born — November 1932 • Birthplace — Bucharest, Romania • Died — December 2004 (aged 72) • Place of death — Netanya, Israel • Citizenship — Israeli • Education — Școala Populară de Artă, Bucharest • Movement — Surrealism, Fantastic realism • Spouse — Agnes Sand

Born in Bucharest, Romania, in 1932, Sand began painting at age 11 and completed his artistic training at the Școala Populară de Artă in Bucharest under the guidance of Radu Bedivan in 1964. He immigrated to Israel the same year and settled in Netanya. While working in the local industry to support his family, he continued to develop his artistic career from his home studio. In a 1969 review in the daily Maariv, the prominent critic and illustrator Kariel Gardosh (Dosh) described Sand as an established artist, praising his technical transition into Fantastic Realism.

Sand's work merged classical techniques with dream-like imagery. Art critic Gil Goldfine frequently analyzed Sand's technique, describing him as a "technician skilled in the classical art of glazing," and noting his ability to create "surreal, disturbing, yet fascinating images" using oil and mixed media. After an exhibition in 2001 at the Artists Pavilion in Tel Aviv, Goldfine described the nine section wall installation Visions as somewhere between grotesque baroque decoration and fantastic realism, which could be compared to the French symbolist Gustave Moreau: "Although much of Sand's work borders on narrative kitsch, one must give him credit for determination and sometimes-adequate figurative rendering. His entire enterprise is an uncompromising collection of psychedelic colors describing characters and stage props in a theater of the absurd." Throughout his career, Sand explored classical, philosophical, and biblical themes. In 1991, he presented "Homage to Rembrandt," an exhibition reinterpreting the Old Master's self-portraits. This landmark exhibition was officially sponsored by the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Israel and was opened by the Dutch Cultural Attaché. In 1993, he exhibited a significant series of works inspired by the biblical Song of Songs.