THE OPEN ROAD
AMY FORD
Tuesday, July 26, 2022 2:00PM - Sunday, August 7, 2022, 2:00PM
Opening Reception: Saturday, July 30th 5:30pm -7:30pm
Closing Reception: Saturday, August 6th 5:30-7:30
Amy Ford is a mixed media artist whose primary focus is the human form.
Ford’s current body of work intentionally appears to be under construction, like building blocks that have not yet fully come together. Large shapes of dense color or decisive line play with the concept that we are constantly evolving. She is interested in the dynamic push and pull between the exterior reality and the interior life of her subjects. In this way, Ford’s process becomes a metaphor for searching and becoming.
The development of her unique artistic style has mirrored her personal journey of discovery. Ford was a young adult when she moved off-Cape, leaving behind life in a religious community. It was a shocking if not traumatic transition into a world she knew nothing of. The Open Road is Ford’s first exhibit to deal directly with her personal history here on the Cape and the years that followed her departure as she sought to find her personal and professional
voice.
Ford is represented by Beacon Gallery (Boston, MA) and The Barn Gallery (Ogunquit, ME). She has studied with Jo Hay, Rick Fox, Joan Pereira, and Dusty Knight, among others. Her work has been juried into New England exhibitions including multiple acceptances in the Roddy Competition, UNH’s Wayfaring Stranger and Cambridge Art Association’s Blue.
She is grateful for this opportunity to come full circle in an authentic way and looks toward a future that includes more time on the Outer Cape.
Artist Amy Ford to be Featured in Solo Show The Open Road
at Provincetown Commons
BOSTON, MA (May 18, 2022) – Beacon Gallery is pleased to announce that, Amy Ford, a New Hampshire based mixed media artist represented by the gallery, will host a solo exhibition The Open Road at Provincetown Commons this summer. The show runs July 26 - August 7, 2022, with an opening reception on Saturday, July 30 from 5:30-7:30 pm and a closing reception on Saturday, August 6, 5:30-7:30 pm to mark the event. This will be Ford’s first exhibition that reflects her personal history on Cape Cod and the years that followed her departure.
“The Open Road reflects my deep reverence for Walt Whitman, whose work has been a constant companion and inspiration to me for years,” says artist Amy Ford. “The humanistic themes of searching and becoming gave voice to my own inner longings early in life, and began a voyage of embracing myself, both artistically and personally.”
The show will feature a group of twelve paintings curated by the artist herself, that chronicle her journey after leaving a religious community as a young adult and beginning a new life in an unknown world. Included are depictions of travelers that represent composites of many people she encountered along the way – a contrast from traditional portraiture. The wildly experiential techniques and actions inherent to her art are all important elements in her materials-driven process.
Her current body of work intentionally appears to be under construction, revealing a sense of motion, as if they are building blocks that have not yet fully come together. Ford indicates that we are constantly evolving through her use of large, bold shapes of color and decisive lines. There is also an exploration of the dynamic push and pull elements between what the artist calls “the exterior presentation and the interior truth” of her subjects. It is in this way that Ford’s process becomes a metaphor for searching and becoming – what Walt Whitman called “seeking the spheres to connect them.”
About the Artist
Amy Ford is a New Hampshire based mixed media artist focusing primarily on the human form. She is represented by Beacon Gallery in Boston, MA and The Barn Gallery in Ogunquit, ME. She has studied figure drawing for more than twenty years, starting out with Italian artist Maestro Silvestro Pistolesi, who instilled in her classical Italian sensibilities and discipline; with Jo Hay, Dusty Knight, Joan Pereira at Castle Hill in Truro, MA where she discovered a love for intense color and dynamic brushwork; Charles Sovek at Chatham Creative Arts Center and Richard Fox at University of New Hampshire. Her work has been juried into New England exhibitions including the Concord Art Association’s Roddy Competition, UNH’s Wayfaring Stranger, Cambridge Art Association’s Blue and sold privately.
Previously, Ford was Director of Sales and Rental at the Cambridge Art Association. In addition, she served as assistant to Silvestro Pistolesi, working on the fresco cycle at the Church of the Transfiguration in Orleans, MA. She is currently a member of The Ogunquit Art Association, Provincetown Art Association (PAAM), Concord Art Association and Union of Maine Visual Artists, among other arts organizations. For more information follow her on Instagram.