About

Biography:
Amy Torgeson is an artist working in printmaking and collage. She loves the collaborative relationship between both methods; printmaking provides material for collage, and the layering and multi-dimensional qualities of collage make their way back into her printmaking. Her studio practice is focused on process and experimentation and she likes to see evidence of the process in the final work. “I’m hoping to capture a sense of being in the middle of things, of coming upon a work when there’s still potential, when the thing is still alive and unfinished. That’s the most exciting moment to me, when I’m in the middle of making.” Amy loves stories, writing, and words but was ultimately a frustrated writer. Her love of typography (the shapes not the nomenclature) serves as an important starting point for much of her work. Amy spent ten years teaching writing and art to college students, with arts organizations and in after-school programs. Today, she hosts art workshops in her studio in Sausalito, providing an intimate space for creative flow and connection. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and two children.

Artist Statement:
Process is central to the work I make. My process is largely intuitive and focuses on a mix of constraints and improvisation. I find inspiration from working with a limited set of tools and materials and the innumerable ways those materials and tools can be used and reimagined. I’m drawn to low-tech methods because they are accessible and approachable, which are two values I hope to come through in the work. Typography continues to serve as a starting point for exploring abstraction. It provides the structure I’m seeking while the process remains open and exploratory. Though I work with recognizable letters and numbers, I'm interested in abstracting these shapes and focusing on the direct experience of pattern, line, shape, and color.

For questions or inquiries please send an email to hello@amytorgeson.com

Selected Exhibitions
2023/2024
Winter Salon, Dec-Feb., Colibri Gallery, Morgan Hill

2023
Solo show, “Nothing Lost”, SOBU, Oakland, CA

2022
Summer Exhibition, Colibri Gallery, Morgan Hill

2021
Summer Exhibition, Colibri Gallery, Morgan Hill

2020
100 Years of Freedom, Art Works Downtown, Juror, Christine Koppes, The San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art
Voyagers, Marin Community Foundation, Curator, Micah LeBrun

2019
The Ladies Room, San Francisco, Juror, Danielle Krysa, Curator, Jen Tough, Jen Tough Gallery
Of Printbearing Age, Second State Press, Philadelphia, PA, Curator, Sarah Pitrus
American Giant, The American Flag: Inspired, San Francisco, CA
Bay Area Prints, Compound Gallery
Flora + Fauna, Jen Tough Gallery, Group Show, Juror, Jen Tough

2018
Ink + Print: West Coast Juried Printmaking Exhibition, Coos Art Museum, Juror, Nicole Pietrantoni
Arts Benicia, In the Fields: Botanical Lore, Juried Show, Juror, Jennifer Perlmutter
Marin Civic Center Galleries, 50th Anniversary Show
105th Annual California Society of Printmakers Show

Galleries
Sloan Miyasato Fine Art, San Francisco, CA
Colibri Gallery, Morgan Hill, CA

Artist-in-Residence, Kala Art Institute, 2019-2020

Publications
Contemporary Collage Magazine, On the Radar, Issue #31
Contemporary Collage Magazine, Issue #14
Contemporary Collage Magazine, Issue #4
Pressing Matters, Issue 15, Featured Profile, pages 32-37
Uppercase, Issue 46, Collage Profiles, pages 44-47
Uppercase, Issue 42, Surface Pattern Design Guide, page 61
Uppercase, Issue 35, Snippets, page, 88.
The Watercolour Ideas Book, Octopus Publishing Group, 2018, pages, 106-107, 134-135 and 150-151.

Membership
California Society of Printmakers
ICBAA Board Member, 2019-2021