Like the imaginary maps at the beginning of fantasy novels, Amy Schissel’s world building is vast. Wherever one’s eyes wander, they wander in wonder, resting upon a detail that instantly leads into luminous, ever-expanding, continuous, and promising space. The large-scale drawings combine traditional cartography, illustrated topographical mountains, and cyber mapping systems to create vigorous artworks that span space, time and universes. The painting and drawing processes record physical and fictional journeys of the artist through spaces, imagined and real. The monumental scale and intricate details of Schissel’s drawings invite the viewer into her process. Thousands of repetitive marks show the artists’ hand, drawing out expeditions in a never-ending, fantastical atlas. Whether hypnotized by the soft auras of color amidst primarily black and white surfaces, or the swirling white mist, Amy Schissel keeps us in the palm of her hand as we enter her multiverse.
Amy Schissel (Canadian) currently lives outside of Miami, FL and is an Assistant Professor of Painting at the University of Miami. She earned a BFA and MFA from the University of Ottawa and is the recipient of numerous awards including a 2016 Joan Mitchell Painting and Sculpture grant, 2014 RBC Emerging Artist Award, 2011 RBC Canadian Painting Competition finalist, and the Brucebo Foundation Fine Arts Award. She has exhibited internationally, and her work can be found in the collections of the West Virginia Museum of Fine Art, Global Affairs Canada (Embassy of Brussels, New Zealand Consulate), University of Brussels, Gotland Museum of Fine Art, City of Ottawa Art Collection, and the Canada Council Art Bank among others. This is the artist’s first solo exhibition with HEMPHILL.