Please join us for the Artist Reception of Amber Maida “Oubliette” at The Souterrain Gallery of The Wish House 

Saturday, September 4, 3-6pm accompanied by The Ballyhack Schoolboys – Jazz and such, on the Wish House Lawn. Bring a lawn chair if you wish.

Artist Statement  –b. 1980  Buffalo, NY

Amber’s work begins with a spiritual ritual of Chi-cultivation, grounding her deeply into the earth; embodying its energy and guiding her hands like a dance, while simultaneously building a universal, yet intimate story within each work. This symbiotic connection with these energies charges the materials with positivity, preserving a storied past or one yet to be known. Embedded elements of nature enrich the layered, textural quality and symbolic language of her work. Gathered found or saved objects such as preserved plant matter, crystals, fabrics, steel cut nails, eggshells, feathers and bees are fused with paint becoming a visual journal, that honor both the materials and her message.

In 2010 Amber sustained major lung surgery, which invited a greater awareness of time, life, love and gratitude. This experience led her to create new collections of mixed media paintings and sculptures based on the intense process of healing and discovery of many silver-linings. Each work aims to honor dualities such as fragility while building/unlocking strength, the old with the new, macro/ micro, and nature vs. man-made materials.

Currently, she is enjoying living life, and creating in Warren, CT with her husband, Pete, and their poodle, Eros.