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By Cristina Schek

March 20^th, 2023

ABOUT

I am the ‘photo-sensitive’ kind. I think in pictures; my imagination is always in focus. A Transylvanian Surrealist Digitalist living in London, I create conceptual portraits exploring identity and the nature of representation using literature, films, and art history as inspiration. I usually work as my own model and have captured myself in a range of guises and personas which are often whimsical and a touch romantic, employing amusing and impactful visual puns.

Completely self-taught in photography and far removed from traditional or documentary styles, the camera is merely a tool for me. My greatest passion is storytelling and following my curiosity into the unknown, enjoying the freedom of layering and manipulating my photographs into creative montages and, at the same time, trusting my instinct for matching the raw material with the imaginings of my subconscious. My photographs are transformed through digital processes into carefully composed works inspired by the Surrealists and Old Masters. I love exploring Imagination, illusion, identity and the ghostlight of the digital age.

My work has been featured internationally at art fairs including the London Art Fair, British Art Fair, Art Miami, Palm Beach Modern + Contemporary, NY Art Fair, Frieze Expo Chicago, LA Art Show, and has also been exhibited in museums including Elmbridge Museum and Kingston Museum (London). It has additionally appeared at auction, with Phillips London (2022 and 2026) and the Harrogate Photography Auction (2025).

In 2025, I was honoured to receive First Prize in the Young Masters People’s Choice Award and was Highly Commended for the Young Masters Rudolph Blume Foundation Acquisition Award. As a result, I’ll be presenting new work in a special exhibition in early 2026. Previous recognition includes the Young Masters ‘Focus on the Female’ Award in 2021 and in 2023, I was thrilled to win the W4 Fourth Plinth with The Ceiling In The Sky, a monumental 4x4m public artwork installed in West London and curated by Abundance London.

For PRESS: See 3rd person bio at the end of this page.

My work is available internationally through Cynthia Corbett Gallery, Leigh Gallery (Hampton Hill, UK), and The Churchward Gallery. Selected fine art limited editions can also be licensed via Rosenstiel’s, one of the world’s most established publishers, and my work is available to view on Artsy.

Alongside gallery representation, my work has been featured in museum exhibitions including Moving Art at Elmbridge Museum (Surrey, UK) in 2023 and Climate KAOS at Kingston Museum (London) in 2022. I also hold an auction record, with works sold at Phillips London (2022 and 2026) and at the Harrogate Photography Auction (2025).

See the full list of exhibitions below. For further details and installation photos, exploere here.

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About

Selected Exhibitions and Awards

2026 Line of Beauty Young Masters People’s Choice Award Exhibition, The Exhibitionist Hotel, South Kensington, London, 15 January–April 2026

2026 Phillips BFAMI Art Auction, PLillips Auction House, London, UK

2025 Art Miami, 2 - 7 December, represented by Cynthia Corbett Gallery, Stand AM100

2025 British Art Fair, Digitalism, Gallery 14, Block D3, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK

2025 British Art Fair, represented by Cynthia Corbett Gallery, Stand 17, London, UK

2025 10 Years: A Decade on Artsy x Cynthia Corbett Gallery | 10 Years Artsy Exclusive: Cristina Schek – Dreaming Upwards (Enter Viewing Room Here)

2025 Palm Beach Modern + Contemporary, 20 - 23 March, represented by Cynthia Corbett Gallery, Florida, US, Booth A6

2025 Focus on the Female Online Showcase

2025 Feltham Station Gallery, UK. | Public Art Project, January-March

2025 First Prize in Young Master's People’s Choice Award, generously sponsored by The Brownhill Insurance Group, and to be Highly Commended for the Rudolph Blume Foundation Acquisition Award.

2025 Young Masters: For the Love of Art History | 16 January - 8 April 2025, London, UK

2024 Art Miami, 3 - 8 December, represented by Cynthia Corbett Gallery, Stand AM100

2024 Molesey Art Society Autumn Fair

2024 KAOS Exhibition at the Rose Theatre in Kingston

2024 Women In Art Fair at The Mall Galleries , London, UK

2024 Elmbridge Moving Art at Robert Phillips Gallery, UK

2024 MAS Digital Art Award

2024 British Art Fair at Saatchi Gallery, London

2024 Cynthia Corbett Gallery Summer Exhibition

2024 Molesey Arts Society Spring Exhibition, London

2024 Palm Beach Modern + Contemporary, 21-24 March, represented by Cynthia Corbett Gallery, Florida, US

2024 LA Art Show 14 -18 February 2024, LA, represented by Cynthia Corbett Gallery

2023 Art Miami 8-10 Dec 2023, Miami, US represented by Cynthia Corbett Gallery

2023 Molesey Arts Society Autumn Fair, London, UK

2023 Cynthia Corbett Gallery Summer Exhibition, UK

2023 Hamptons Fine Art Fair 13-16 July 2023, US, represented by Cynthia Corbett Gallery

2023 Arts Richmond Photographic Exhibition: ‘Turning Point’ 15-28 May 2023.

2023 Palm Beach Modern + Contemporary represented by Cynthia Corbett Gallery, Florida, US

2023 'Woman Who Fell To Earth' Winner of ‘2023 Digital Art Award’ and ‘2023 Creative Use of Colour Award’ at the prestigious Molesey Arts Society Spring Exhibition, UK

2023 'Ceiling In The Sky' W4th Plinth Winner, UK

2023 The Elmbridge Museum, Surrey, UK

2022 Orleans House Gallery Winter Show, Richmond, London

2022 Art Miami Fair, represented by Cynthia Corbett Gallery, Miami, US

2022 British Friends of the Arts Museums of Israel (BFAMI) Art Auction at Phillips, London

2022 Elmbridge Moving Art Exhibition, London

2022 Landmark Autumn Art Fair, London

2022 Art on Paper NY, represented by Cynthia Corbett Gallery, New York

2022 ‘Squares and Triangles’ at The Fitzrovia Gallery, London

2022 Hamptons Fine Art Fair US, represented by Cynthia Corbett Gallery, US

2022 Cynthia Corbett Gallery Summer Show, London

2022 Arts Richmond Tent at St. Margarets Fair, London

2022 Leigh Gallery Summer Exhibition, Hampton Hill, London

2022 Rose Theatre Exhibition with KAOS, Kingston, London

2022 Landmark Art Centre Spring Art Fair, Teddington, London

2022 London Art Fair with Cynthia Corbett Gallery, London

2022 ‘Climate KAOS’ Exhibition at Kingston Museum, London

2021 Cynthia Corbett Gallery Winter Curation Show, London

2021 ‘Focus On The Female’ Exhibition, Cynthia Corbett Gallery, South Kensington, London

2021 Focus On The Female Art Created During Lockdown Award 2021 for ‘Florence Lightingale’

2021 Leigh Gallery Summer Exhibition, Hampton Hill, London

2021 Landmark Art Centre Autumn Art Fair, Teddington, London

2021 Shrine Gallery Virtual Group Show, New York

2020 ‘Art Unlocked’ at Orleans House Gallery, Richmond, London | 'On Vacation' chosen as Publicity Cover Artwork

2019 Leigh Gallery Group Show, Hampton Hill, London

2019 Richmond Art House Open Studios Festival, UK | 'Fern Boy' chosen as Festival Cover Artwork

2018 ‘Fern Boy’ Awarded First Prize at Happenstance Gallery’s RA Salon des Refusés

Highlights

‘Ceiling In The Sky’ Unveiled as The W4 Fourth Plinth Winner | 23rd April 2023 Unveiling by Dame Siân Phillips

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BFAMI Art Exhibition at Phillips Auction House in London, November 2022

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Artist Bio (3rd person)

Cristina Schek is the ‘photo-sensitive’ kind. She thinks in pictures; her imagination is always in focus. A Transylvanian Surrealist Digitalist based in London, she creates conceptual portraits that explore identity and the nature of representation, drawing inspiration from literature, film, and art history. Often working as her own model, Schek appears in a range of guises; whimsical, romantic, and rich with visual puns that are as playful as they are profound. Of layered Transylvanian roots: Saxon, Dacian, Roman, and ever-curious, she belongs everywhere and nowhere, drawing from a heritage as complex and shape-shifting as the identities she examines.

Completely self-taught and far removed from traditional or documentary styles, Schek sees the camera as merely a tool. Her passion lies in storytelling, following intuition into the unknown, layering and manipulating her photographs into creative montages. Subtle digital alterations, often developed over months, result in meticulously composed works influenced by the Surrealists and Old Masters. She explores imagination, illusion, and the ghostlight of the digital age.

As esteemed art critic Estelle Lovatt, FRSA, notes:

“Cristina Schek’s attention-grabbing images are inspired by literature and history. I marvel at her unique quirky portraits of modern life... Different to a man’s representation of the female, Schek inspires us to be the victor not the victim. She created a new, unique visual language influencing and motivating us to be as progressive and visionary as we are — assertive, bold, confident. Solid feminist weight, in images not just of her, but of you and me, in Schek’s sumptuous, surrealistic, delightful imaginings.”

Her work has been shown internationally at major art fairs including the London Art Fair, British Art Fair, Art Miami, Palm Beach Modern + Contemporary, NY Art Fair, LA Art Show, as well as in museum exhibitions such as Elmbridge Museum and Kingston Museum in London. In 2025, Schek was awarded First Prize in the Young Masters People’s Choice Award and was Highly Commended for the Young Masters Rudolph Blume Foundation Acquisition Award. As a result, she will present new work in a special exhibition in early 2026. Previous accolades include the Young Masters ‘Focus on the Female’ Award (2021), and in 2023, she won the W4 Fourth Plinth with The Ceiling In The Sky, a monumental 4x4m public artwork installed in West London.

Short Bio:

Cristina Schek is the photo-sensitive kind — a London-based Transylvanian Surrealist Digitalist whose conceptual work and self-portraits explore identity, representation and the subconscious through a rich blend of literature, cinema and art history. With layered roots: Dacian, Roman, Saxon - her work reflects a heritage as complex and shapes-hifting as the personas she inhabits. Entirely self-taught, Cristina uses digital montage and subtle manipulation to craft whimsical, thought-provoking compositions inspired by the Surrealists and Old Masters, yet filtered through a lens distinctly her own. Her practice explores refracted realities, memory, and the ghostlight of the digital age.

Her work has been exhibited internationally at major art fairs including London Art Fair, British Art Fair, Art Miami, LA Art Show, as well as in museum shows at Elmbridge and Kingston Museums. In 2025, she was awarded First Prize in the Young Masters People’s Choice Award and Highly Commended for the Rudolph Blume Foundation Acquisition Award. She also won the 2023 W4 Fourth Plinth for her 4x4m public artwork ‘The Ceiling In The Sky’.

One sentence bio:

Cristina Schek is the photo-sensitive’ kind - a Transylvanian navigating refracted memory, shifting identity, and the ghostlight of the digital age.

© 2026 Cristina Schek

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