Get Up Close and Personal with Artist Amy Pleasant

Where do artists get their inspiration? For Birmingham artist Amy Pleasant, she often gets inspired by materials at this library.

On Tuesday, February 25 from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m., Pleasant will be in the First Floor Conference Room at the Central Library and talk about her drawings to interested visitors thus giving them an opportunity to engage with the artist one on one and interact with works of art in an intimate way. It will provide an “open studio” environment in the library, which allows for open discussion and hands-on experience. The visitors will be able to hold the drawings as they would a book. There are not many opportunities for people to interact with artists and artworks in this way, and a deeper understanding can occur because of the ability to talk to an artist while standing in front of the works and also by looking at original works of art, not reproductions.

 “The project will be a way for me to share my process and how the source material for a lot of my work comes from the books in this very library. I would like to have available alongside my work the books that I refer to on a regular basis. This will also demonstrate the connection between the library and the studio,” states Pleasant. “The museum or gallery experience is very different and most of the public may feel outside of the cultural dialog in Birmingham… I feel this event could create a sense of connectedness with the community. There is a lot of mystery involved with the idea of the artist in the studio and this will open up that mystery and make it available to all who are present.”

 Pleasant is a member of the Viewing Program artist registry at The Drawing Center, New York. Established in 1977, the Viewing Program offers emerging artists around the world the opportunity to include their work in a curated artist registry that is consulted by a wide variety of arts professionals: curators, gallerists, and collectors. The Drawing Center suggests the program On the Table to the members of the Viewing Program as an opportunity for artists to show work outside of conventional exhibition spaces.

Pleasant received a BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and an MFA from The Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia, PA. She has held solo exhibitions at various locations including Jeff Bailey Gallery, NY, The Birmingham Museum of Art, The Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, and The University of Alabama at Birmingham. Her work has been included in group exhibitions in venues such as The Hunter Museum of American Art, The Weatherspoon Museum of Art, The National Museum for Women in the Arts, The Mobile Museum of Art, and The U.S. Embassy, Prague, Czech Republic. Pleasant’s work has been reviewed in publications such as Art in America, Art Papers, The Commercial Appeal and artforum.com. She currently lives and works in Birmingham, Alabama and is represented by Jeff Bailey Gallery, NYC and whitespace gallery in Atlanta, GA.

Amy Pleasant--On the Table--in Collaboration with The Drawing Center, NYC

Tuesday, February 25, 2014, 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Birmingham Public Library, 2100 Park Place
First Floor Conference Room

For more information, call 226-3670.