Amy Feldman’s practice both stems from and dynamically reforms the tradition of abstract painting. The elements of form in her works are visual manifestations of physical and psychological experiences, connecting the human emotion with the rationality of the actual physical painting. Feldman’s pictorial language oscillates in the dichotomy between control and impulse. She departs from sketches and studies, meticulously laying out the ground rules. However, the transformation of these preparatory works into often large-scale canvases is more fluid and the execution of the mark is a quick definite. Feldman never goes back to edit or rework. So even if the process of applying the paint on the canvas appears to be a precise action, the artist allows for the uncontrollable to present itself. Hence, the process becomes a metaphor for life itself; the preparation is only possible to a certain degree.
Feldman builds her paintings in many layers. In recent years, she has incorporated printed backgrounds by preparing the canvas with silkscreen ink. The printed background has shown the enlarged grid of an untreated canvas, creating an optical illusion of depth. In her newer body of works, Feldman has introduced more layers of prints, presenting scribbles, brushstrokes, fingermarks, and lines. Despite the differences in painting versus printing, the two practices operate concurrently to create a vibrant dynamism. The duality of the processes draws attention to the question of truth and authenticity.
Amy Feldman, born 1981, lives and works in New York. Amy Feldman holds a BFA from Rhode Island School of Design, 2003, and a MFA from Rutgers University, New Jersey, 2008.
Amy Feldman’s work has been shown at Galerie Eva Presenhuber, New York; Tennis Elbow, The Journal, New York; Blain Southern, Berlin; Ratio 3, San Francisco; Corbett vs Dempsey, Chicago; Brand New Gallery, Milan; Sorry We’re Closed, Brussels; Schloss Derneburg Museum, Germany; Sheldon Museum of Art, Lincoln; MCA: Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery at The University of the Arts, Philadelphia; Kunstmuseum, Bonn; Musée d’art Moderne, St. Etienne, France, among others.
Amy Feldman was the recipient of the Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant in 2021, the Guggenheim Foundation Grant in 2018 and Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant in 2013.
Amy Feldman’s work is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; The Sheldon Museum of Art, Lincoln; The Hall Art Foundation, Schloss Derneburg Museum, Germany and the Vanhaerants Art Collection, Brussels.