Inger Sannes

Some sculptors start early on the artistic path, expressive as children, pursuing degrees in fine arts. Sannes took a more circuitous route. She earned degrees in nursing and human resources and a master’s in healthcare administration in her native Norway, and went on to administer a national institute for children with lung diseases. Then she took a detour through the world of business, becoming a manager with a large international consulting firm and a principal with IBM.

Today, however, she is at home in a marble studio in Pietrasanta, Italy, having traded corporate style for rugged clothes that can withstand marble dust and the eyewear demanded by the power tools in her hands. She divides her time between North Tuscany and her home and studio in Stockholm.

Sannes explains, however, that the jump is not as big as it appears, “since I have always worked with my hands and in everything I undertake, my intuition and creativity is paramount to my success.” The lure — the necessity, even — of sculpture for Sannes is evident: “Through sculpting I can better reflect on life and express the deepest of my dreams and imagination.” Surrounded by the inanimate, she is very much about life, working “to capture life when shaping the stone.”

Sannes’ work is in corporate and private collections in Sweden, Norway, France, England, Luxemburg, Hong Kong, Italy and the United States.

Sannes' website: inger-sannes.se