Executed in meticulous detail, Amy Myers' drawings and paintings feature configurations of radiating forms that have been described as evoking the cosmos, galaxies, mandalas, the vulva, and scientific diagrams.
Read MoreWith a father who was a particle physicist, Myers was raised in an environment familiar with science and incorporates notions of quantum physics and the universe into her work. She holds a BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute (1995) and an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (1999).
Amy Myers' paintings and drawings are characterised by their near symmetry and use of soft, biomorphic, or geometric shapes radiating from the centre. Visually, they have been compared to Georgia O'Keeffe's paintings of flowers and Judy Chicago's The Dinner Party (1974–1979) for their monumental scale and reference to the vulva.
Intuition is key to Myers' practice, which begins by taping a sheet of paper—typically measuring 30 by 44 inches—to a wall and drawing on it in graphite, coloured pencil, and gouache, among other mediums. Myers adds on sheets of paper as the drawing progresses, which results in her characteristic large-scale mandalas. Although at first glance her works appear exact and digitally produced, closer inspection reveals that the drawing is not perfectly symmetrical and that touches of the hand, from pencil notations to traces of the eraser, are visible.
The concentric circles and flowing forms that frequent Myers' work evoke planetary bodies or organic forms, while the artist often references physics in her titles. Operetta Inside Atom (2008), for example, depicts an intersection of translucent shapes that resemble insect wings, with concentric circles that appear to create ripples or suggest the trajectory of celestial bodies. In Atomic Cosmologies (2014), softer, petal-like forms frame the lower portion of the black central silhouette, which could be an insect's body or a void.
While most known for her abstract drawings, Myers has worked with the medium of painting since 2016.
Daughter Universes, her solo exhibition at New York's Malin Gallery in 2019, presented her latest forays into painting. Shades of blue feature regularly in the included works, providing a contrasting background to Myers' translucent cosmos rendered mostly in white.
Amy Myers exhibitions have been held in numerous galleries and institutions throughout her career.
Select solo exhibitions include Painting, Talley Dunn Gallery, Dallas (2020); Daughter Universes, Malin Gallery, New York (2019); Spiral Light, Valerie McKenzie Gallery, New York (2015); Monumental Drawings, Sweeney Art Museum, Culver Center of the Arts, California (2013); Feminine Space, Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, Atlanta, Georgia (2010).
Select group exhibitions include Culver@10, Sweeney Art Museum, Culver Center of the Arts, California (2021); Gothic, Lehman Gallery of Art, New York (2017); Something Else, The Painting Center, New York (2016); The Way of Drawing, Gallery Momo, Tokyo (2014); Looking Forward, Randall Scott Projects, Washington, D.C. (2013).
Amy Myers' website can be found here.
Sherry Paik | Ocula | 2022
