Amy Sacksteder: StillApril 24 – June 13, 2009
Opening Reception Friday, April 24, 6:00 – 9:00 pm
Gallery Talk Saturday, April 25, 2:00 pm
Paint Creek Center for the Arts is pleased to present Still, a solo show of works by Amy Sacksteder. In her work, Amy explores the juncture between Design and Nature, specifically design that is meant to be consumed in the form of fashion, decoration, art, and music. She examines what makes these images attractive to people such that again and again, they are appropriated, taken a very far distance from their original embodiment in the wild and presented as Design. Possibly this proliferation of slick, stylized natural imagery is our culture’s way of connecting to nature when many people don’t interact with the natural world on a regular basis. The desire to surround oneself with representations of nature is certainly not a new phenomenon, but perhaps the present trend bears an urgency that makes such images as unsettling as they are attractive.
Sacksteder exhibits regularly in national and international solo, group and juried exhibitions. Her work has been sited on contemporary art blogs such as my love for you is a stampede of horses, and has been published in New American Paintings, Juxtapoz Online, and on the cover of The Florida Review. She has attended residencies through the Ragdale Foundation in Illinois, the Pouch Cove Foundation in Newfoundland, the Residential Art Centre of Cantagal in France.
Amy Sacksteder was recently awarded a Faculty Research Fellowship SSM Award from Eastern Michigan University to pursue her current body of work at the Hungarian Multicultural Center during the summer of 2009. The residency includes a public lecture and exhibition. She received her MFA from Northern Illinois University in 2004. She lives and works in Ypsilanti, Michigan, where she is an Assistant Professor of Art at Eastern Michigan University.
PCCA will host an opening reception to honor Amy Sacksteder, on Friday, April 24th from 6:00 – 9:00 pm. Join us again on Saturday, May 2nd at 2:00 pm for a gallery talk. This is an excellent opportunity to talk with the artist in an informal setting and learn more about their work.
The opening reception for this exhibit coincides with the Downtown Rochester Spring Gallery Stroll. Visit a variety of galleries and businesses presenting art exhibits of all kinds. Enjoy light refreshments and get to know the community, as you stroll from one site to the next.
The mission of Paint Creek Center for the Arts is to enhance life in the region by promoting, encouraging and creating opportunities to participate in and appreciate the arts. Paint Creek Center for the Arts is open Monday through Thursday, 9:00am to 9:00pm, Friday 9:00am – 7:00pm, and Saturday, 10:00am to 4:00pm. Exhibits are free and open to the public. We are located at 407 Pine Street in downtown Rochester at the intersection of Pine and Fourth Streets. For information on exhibits, classes, the Art & Apples Festival, special events or volunteer opportunities, call 248-651-4110 or visit www.pccart.org.
PCCA exhibitions are supported by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the National Endowment for the Arts.