I was born in Reading, Pennsylvania. Presently, I reside in San Diego, California. Growing up I witnessed my mother’s passion for art, music, and literature. She continues to be a constant inspiration.

I am a self-taught artist without formal training. Painting is an expression and extension of my self and my surroundings. It is with extreme trepidation that I approach my work. Because the sensuality of women, as well as women’s power colors my paintings - I often face a tenuous dichotomy. When I imagine what I would like to represent in a particular piece-swirling collages of traditional femininity collide with fiery, fierce images of strength and purpose. And when combined, my imagination creates the work that my hands arduously, anxiously, carefully construct.

The pieces presented here speak of sexuality and solemnity, forcefulness and freedom, politics and poetics. Most importantly, they express immediacy-the immediacy to notice, to feel, and to react to the bounty of postures that women boldly uphold. Because if any art is to address the mind’s politics, it must first sound the depths of the heart.

Amy Helene Koumaras