Amy Sillman

Amy Sillman treats painting as a mode of thinking. She had previously described it as “a physical thinking process to continue an interior dialogue”. Her work is characterized by layers: gestures, corrections, overpainting, overlaying of drawing, sometimes rough edges, colour that surprises. She does not aim for polished surface as much as expressive tension among colour, line, form, and mark.

The work 'Untitled (Frieze for Venice) Large 36 (2021)' embodies many of those traits: gestural complexity, possibly a frieze-like sequence of forms or recurring motifs. The piece builds visual momentum, colour shifting, drawing in and out, perhaps a narrative tension or rhythm without clear narrative.

Sillman recently held solo exhibitions at the Kunstmuseum Bern and at the Ludwig Forum für Internationale Kunst, Aachen.