Amy Reckley: 5 Easy Q’s
Cabin №56 Gallery | Winter Solstice Finale | Sat Dec 23 | Last Show Ever
Curator’s Note: I’ve known the enormously talented Amy Reckley practically my entire life, we are both Michiganders, both grew up in the same town. Our families are long friends and background will always connect us. But so too does our love for the mysteries of Art.
When I thought about how I wanted to end the Cabin №56 Gallery project, I immediately thought of Amy’s work (some of her pieces hang in my parents’ home in Saugatuck). I dreamt of her coming into the East Fork of the Angeles National Forest and creating some site-specific sculpture, a branch of work we hadn’t exhibited yet.
I contacted her way back in January to be the featured artist in the Winter Solstice, and she said yes. In one week she’ll be flying to L.A. and hiking into a forest and creating something that will never be seen again. It’s a true finale in every way.
I met her over beers in Michigan several weeks back to check in about the show, and her ideas blew me away; even more original and creative than I could have imagined.
I’ve watched Amy’s work evolve, shift, and settle in after years of experimentation and searching. Her discovered style is completely unique to her, something like a combination of Cy Twombly in three or four dimensions and Babara Kruger in spirit and confidence. I’m humbled to be able to introduce her to California on Saturday, December 23 — rain or shine, one show only. I hope you’ll be there. — J.B.
Q: What are your memories or associations with Winter?
Some of my clearest memories are from my childhood and being outside in the Winter weather — walking through ice tunnels on the shores of Lake Michigan, cross-country skiing under a full moon on the Riley Woods trails. Winter is also a good season for naps.
Q: Are you a woodsy person?
Yes, but usually for a limited amount of time.
Q: What would you like people to experience through your art?
I want people to find familiarity and a bodily conversation with my work, and continue to have questions long after their encounter.
Q: Art and Nature. Discuss?
I don’t see how you can have one without the other.
Q: What’s your current or favorite thing about Los Angeles?
I’m embarrassed to say that I have never been to Los Angeles. So my current and favorite thing is that I will be there very soon.
Q: If you could have one wish come true for 2018, what would it be?
Peace and the good kind of quiet.
Amy Reckley is an artist currently living and working in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She has exhibited installation, sculpture and drawing nationally and internationally. Recent site-related works have been installed at Artworks Loveland, The Soap Factory in Minneapolis, MN, The Loveland Feed and Grain in Colorado, and the Saugatuck Center for the Arts in Michigan. Her residency awards include the Barstow Artist-in-Residence; Ox-Bow; and ART342.
She questions different definitions in drawing — whether the work is larger three dimensional installation, smaller sculpture or more traditional two dimensional applications in drawings on paper. Her work examines the physical and psychological dimensions of space and not-so-familiar objects, often addressing architectural structures, the domestic setting through common construction materials, repurposed elements and nostalgic surfaces.
