PRESS RELEASE
An Artist Returns Home to Remember and to Witness
Canton born and raised, Seattle painter, Amy Pleasant, began a ten year creative journey with the passing down of her mother’s and aunt’s family albums. Faced with the juxtaposition of raising her own children and caring for these two important women, prompted a realization that she was witness to the end of a generation. Their passing later that year, within 2 months of each other, marked a crucial generational transition; a universal requisite for all families. A series of colorfully dynamic, abstract expressionist figurative paintings and poetry based on these family albums found their roots during this time of change and reflection.
A fascination beyond her own family, led to the creation of more than 60 figurative paintings finding their inspiration in the discarded photographs found in thrift stores and her yearly pilgrimage to the Hartville Flea Market. “Family Album” opens on August 22nd, filling three galleries at the Canton Museum of Art. A public Artist’s Reception will be held on August 25th from 5:00pm to 7:00pm. The opening will include live poetry readings throughout the evening and a digital installation which includes black and white family photographs collected from the surrounding communities. The exhibition runs through October 29th with regular museum hours Tuesday-Thursday 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM, Friday-Saturday 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM, Sunday 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM. 1001 Market Avenue North, Canton, OH 44702
For years, Pleasant carefully gathered discarded black and white candid photographs to look for clues; a look, the arch of a brow, a stance, some hint of the complexity of human relationships revealing themselves through these micro moments caught on camera. These paintings provide a visual language, alluding to the complexities, ambiguities of a life well lived. The stories brought to the canvas may provide some sort of closure, the hint of a story buried for all time. It is left to the viewer to fill in the blanks.
About the Artist
Amy Pleasant was born and raised in Canton, Ohio. After teaching Middle and Elementary School in Los Angeles, Honolulu and Seattle, she returned to study Computer Animation at the Art Institute of Seattle and then attended the Drawing and Painting Atelier at Gage Academy of Art in Seattle. Her work has been exhibited in galleries in Seattle, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles with solo exhibitions in Dallas, Seattle and Amsterdam. Museum exhibitions include the New York Children’s Museum of Art, the San Juan Islands Museum of Art and the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art. She received the Artist Trust Gap Grant in 2015 and was one of twelve artists recognized by the Woman’s Artist Caucus in 2014. Current work is published in Photo Trouvee Magazine. She lives with her family in the Pacific Northwest. Her poetry and free lance Art and Culture articles can be found at Huff Post and Bust Magazine. Images and CV can be found at https://www.amypleasantseattle.com/ More information at https://www.cantonart.org/exhibits/upcoming-exhibits
