Amy Klaassen

About Amy Klaassen

Amy creates without a plan. She starts with whatever comes to mind—a feeling, an image, a sensation, or a thought—and works with it to see what emerges. This exhibition features a great deal of acrylic paint, complemented by mixed media, and she also enjoys experimenting with natural materials. She layers, sweeps, and connects elements, observing how the material itself behaves. Sometimes an idea plays over in her mind repeatedly before she begins, and it is only during the creative process that she discovers what the piece will look like.

Amy is curious and likes to work intuitively. She finds the act of creating liberating and is particularly intrigued by the outcome. She finds it most rewarding when a work turns out differently than she had envisioned. She continues working until the movement comes to a rest—much like a leaf landing on the ground—and nothing more needs to be added, even if not every element is fully resolved. Her own process of exploration remains visible in the work, which is playful and hopeful. Sometimes she sets a piece aside and picks it up again later, as there is a beauty in an open-ended process that she does not wish to force.