WRITINGS

AMY COHEN BANKER
By Alex Simon

One of the most versatile artists working today, Cornell University graduate Amy Cohen Banker works in: acrylic, oil, pastels, aquarelle, oil sticks, varnishes, glazes, finishing and surface techniques, as well as photography, and is a published poet. “I explore the basic issues of opacity, color, form, depth, obfuscation and revelation in life, language and in art,” Amy explains. “I can't help but be influenced by philosophy, poetry, literature, and metaphors, especially of strong feminist models: women's conflicting roles in a changing time throughout the centuries.”

Using a visually-striking color palate in all of her work, Amy describes her process as being intuitive, rather than conscious. “Some of the colors I use in my paintings are artificial, but even if the work isn't meant to be directly realistic, it's still about the way I see the world. I suppose I'm just replicating what I perceive the world's colors to be.”

Amy blends many of the mediums she works in, and infuses it with a very personal touch. “My work is integrated with my writing, psychology, and my early childhood and life experiences. I tend to reinvent the same themes, work from a structure and then proceed by distressing, demolishing, recreating and conserving. My major themes are inner restoration and survival, and I'm always challenging reality versus myth.”