Constellations

Amy Sands

October 19 – December 28, 2024

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

I have been exploring the concept of women’s work in my art. Imagery sourced from lace and craft doilies and other lace artifacts emerge from my paper abstractions, giving homage to the history of women’s work and raising the question of what is valued in our culture. Patriarchal systems have inhibited female artists from being recognized for their work throughout history. “Craft” is often illegitimately considered low-brow when compared to “fine art,” and I aim to conflate these notions by bringing the patterns of craft into prints. 

In addition to merging the ideas of “craft” and “fine art,” my work pushes the boundaries of what has been historically defined as a print. Post-digital printmaking processes such as laser cutters have entered my practice and have allowed me to expand on ways of thinking about the print. The balance of the delicate and the mechanical adds an additional element to the concept of gender roles referenced in the handwork. Exploring scale through these miniature prints has become an important way for me to broaden the range of possibilities with printmaking.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Amy Sands, who holds an MFA from Pratt Institute, is a Minneapolis-based artist who creates one-of-a-kind works on paper at the intersection of traditional and digital methods of printmaking. She has exhibited in solo and group shows across the world including: 2022 McKnight Printmaking Fellowship Exhibition, Minneapolis; Prints Tokyo 2012, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum; the International Printmaking Biennial of Douro, Portugal; and the International Biennial Print Exhibit: 2020 R.O.C. at The National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts.

Her work has been internationally recognized with numerous awards including First Prize ~ Mini Print III International Cantabria/Impact 10 in Santander, Spain; Juror’s Choice Award ~ Awagami International Miniature Print Exhibition 2017, Tokushima, Japan, among others. Sands is the recipient of a 2022 McKnight Printmaking Fellowship at Highpoint Center for Printmaking, 2022 MSAB Creative Support for Individuals, 2020 MSAB Artist Initiative Grant, 2019 Springboard for the Arts Art in the Public Realm grant and a 2018 Springboard for the Arts Bottineau Boulevard grant. Her work is represented at Muriel Guépin Gallery in New York City, and Base Gallery in Tokyo, Japan. She maintains a studio in the Twin Cities area where she is Associate Professor of Studio Arts at Metropolitan State University, St Paul, MN.