BIOGRAPHY
I CHOSE CURIOSITY OVER JUDGMENT.
Sandra Bacchi is a Brazilian American visual artist based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, whose practice spans photography, kilnformed glass, film, and installation. Her work explores memory, migration, family history, and human connection, often moving between personal narratives and broader questions of identity and belonging.
Drawing from backgrounds in photography and film, Bacchi uses materials and processes in response to the ideas she is exploring. Her projects bring together image, light, layering, movement, and space, creating works that unfold through time and in relation to the viewer. Her practice ranges from image-based narratives to sculptural and spatial works in which glass itself becomes a primary means of expression.
Bacchi’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally and was selected for The Outwin 2025: American Portraiture Today at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. Recent projects include Synergy, a permanent installation for Pittsburgh Glass Center; Moments of Serenity, a large-scale glass installation for UPMC Shadyside; and Golden Hour, a site-specific installation in New York City. She is also the director of the documentary Be the Best Tree.
Born in São Paulo, Brazil, Bacchi spent more than a decade working in film and video production before immigrating to the United States in 2012. She serves on the board of Pittsburgh Glass Center.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS & PROJECTS
2026
Reflection in Glass, Westmoreland Museum of American Art, Greensburg, PA; Pittsburgh Glass Center, Pittsburgh, PA
The Outwin 2025: American Portraiture Today, Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC
Biota, Pittsburgh Center for Arts & Media, Pittsburgh, PA
2025
Golden Hour, site-specific glass installation, New York, NY
Moments of Serenity, permanent glass installation, UPMC Shadyside, Pittsburgh, PA
Synergy, permanent glass installation, Pittsburgh Glass Center, Pittsburgh, PA
2024
Watermelons Are Not Strawberries, solo exhibition, Sewickley Public Library, Sewickley, PA
Smash the Ceiling, Floors, and Walls; Take the Broken Shards and Blow It Back, Pittsburgh Glass Center, Pittsburgh, PA
We the People, Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art, Altoona, PA
And Also Wide: Artist/Mother Lines, Brew House Association, Pittsburgh, PA
2023
In Dreams I Walk with You, Silver Eye Center for Photography, Pittsburgh, PA
Glass From Every Angle, Glass Art Society Conference, Detroit, MI
Rip, Repair, Repeat, Brew House Association, Pittsburgh, PA
2022
Watermelons Are Not Strawberries, solo exhibition, Concept Art Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA
2021
Glass, Meet the Future Film Festival, Toyama Glass Art Museum, Japan; Museum of Arts and Design, New York; North Lands Creative, Scotland
SELECTED HONORS & RESIDENCIES
2025
Finalist, The Outwin 2025: American Portraiture Today, National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC
2023
Third Place Award, Member Exhibition, Glass Art Society Conference, Detroit, MI
2022–2023
Distillery Artist Residency, Brew House Association, Pittsburgh, PA
2021
Critical Mass Top 200 Finalist, Photolucida
2020
Third Place Award, Paraty em Foco Festival, Paraty, Brazil
2019–2020
Idea Furnace Artist Residency, Pittsburgh Glass Center, Pittsburgh, PA
SELECTED TALKS & PUBLICATIONS
2026
When a Photograph Becomes Material, lecture and demonstration, Glass Art Society Conference, Corning, NY
Artist Talk, Portrait Festival, National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC
“When a Photograph Becomes Material,” GAS Journal, forthcoming
2025
Artist Talk, Process of Making Synergy, Pittsburgh Glass Center, Pittsburgh, PA
2024
Artist Talk, Watermelons Are Not Strawberries, Sewickley Public Library, Sewickley, PA
Panelist, AI + The Arts, POP District, Pittsburgh, PA
2022
Watermelons Are Not Strawberries, photobook, Yoffy Press; essay by Sarah Kennel
EDUCATION & AFFILIATIONS
B.A. in Public Relations, Fundação Armando Alvares Penteado (FAAP), São Paulo, Brazil
Certificate in Photography, Escola Panamericana de Arte, São Paulo, Brazil
Selected Continuing Education
Shaping Light: Exploring Stained Glass with the Waterjet, Meggy Wilm, Pittsburgh Glass Center, 2026
Working in Shallow Space: Bas Relief in Kiln-Glass, Richard Parrish, 2022
International Cinematography Workshop with Vilmos Zsigmond and László Kovács, Budapest, Hungary, 2001
Affiliations
Board Member, Pittsburgh Glass Center, 2021–2026
Pittsburgh Creative Corps, 2024–Present
Associated Artists of Pittsburgh, 2021–Present
Disabled Artists Creative Cohort, Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council, 2023–2024