Amy Gross
Mixed media sculptor
Delray Beach, FL, USA
Recommended by Jean Blanchaert & Irina Focsaneanu Eschenazi
Microscopic worlds in bead and thread
- Amy’s sculptures are inspired by fungi, spores, pollen and microbes
- She reinterprets natural patterns through embroidery and beading
- Her relationship with Florida’s ecosystems defines her work
Amy Gross transforms synthetic materials into sculptures that evoke microscopic life. Intentionally excluding natural materials, her work suggests growth and vitality while remaining static and artificial. Amy was raised by a painter father and studied art at university before building a career in textile and toy design. Two decades later, she traded digital production for handcrafting, a discipline in which she is primarily self-taught. Amy began by creating small shadow boxes and jewellery with yarn, beads, wire and fabric, often incorporating her own photographs of plants and insects. These small compositions expanded into wall based compositions, and eventually evolved into sculptural installations. “Sculpture became my way of making the invisible visible,” Amy says. “I use microscopic life as a metaphor for resilience, vulnerability and the hidden systems that sustain us all.”
INTERVIEW
My fascination with tiny details began in childhood. I used to build farms around tree roots, lift stones to count pill bugs and watch ants disappear into forests of grass. Early on, I discovered that the smallest creatures live lives as vivid as our own. What we cannot see is as important as what we can.
In Florida, the line between cultivated landscapes and wilderness always feels temporary. I encounter butterflies, fungi, vines, mosses, birds, reptiles and wetlands, all connected to countless hidden organisms beneath the surface. This invisible network is the foundation of my work.
I use thread and beads the way a painter uses line and pigment, inviting viewers to bounce between what my sculptures depict and what they are actually made of. I am also physically and mentally dedicated to capturing the complexity and detail that make the world so interesting. It can be tedious, but it is also meditative and satisfying.
Receiving my first South Florida Cultural Consortium Grant in 2006 was the first real indication that I might be onto something. It was also the only exhibition my father lived to attend. He taught me how important art is, and how to truly see beyond the surface: an eggshell is not merely white, but a spectrum of colours, and shadows can glow.
Amy Gross
Mixed media sculptor
Delray Beach, FL, USA
Recommended by Jean Blanchaert & Irina Focsaneanu Eschenazi
ADDRESS
Address upon request, Delray Beach, FL, USA
AVAILABILITY
By appointment only
LANGUAGES
English
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