Artist Biography
Amanda Fay is a practicing fiber artist, based in Austin, Texas, and raised in Alexandria, Virginia.
Drawing inspiration through the language of traditional world textiles, their making processes, and historical context, they elicit objects and abstractions that convey both beauty and deeper underlying meaning. In addition to their work, they are deeply involved in fostering creative communities, having organized exhibitions at their past gallery, 1815, and led classes at The Contemporary Austin.
Amanda is a founding member of the Bolm Arts Collective, where they collaborate with other artists to create dynamic, community-driven art experiences.
They hold a BFA from The Savannah College of Art and Design and have participated in advanced workshops at institutions like the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. This diverse educational background has further shaped their approach to fiber art and experimental processes, which have been featured in exhibitions such as Wresting Place: New Works by Amanda Fay and Anton Chavez, and as the featured AIR at the LINE Austin.
Their work continues to foster conversation around labor rights, inequality, and climate change, bridging craftsmanship and conceptual exploration in compelling ways.
Daily Practice
2020
Amulet
2020
Daily Practice
2020
Artist Statement
My artistic practice engages in a dialogue with the void, expressing my lived experience through the language of traditional world textiles, their making processes, and historical contexts. Each piece begins with a conceptual fulcrum, realized through a process of questioning, evolving, and editing. Informed by my BFA in Fiber Arts from the Savannah College of Art and Design, my work draws inspiration from my experiences in the blue-collar labor sector, climate change, the recession, and the ongoing housing crisis. Through abstraction, I create objects of beauty that carry deeper underlying meanings.
Currently, my work focuses on the traditional practice of indigo dyeing and its sociological implications across cultures, particularly as they relate to our modern understanding of blue-collar labor and class. Using cotton denim as my medium, I investigate the value of labor and socio-economic disparity through textile, sculpture, and mixed media.
I also explore the loss of identity within the corporate work environment through a collection of work shirts, presented in custom frames that evoke cubicles or widgets from phone apps. This body of work furthers my inquiry into the complexities of labor, highlighting the disconnection individuals often feel in such settings.
In a newer direction, I am addressing climate change by creating objects of religious magnitude that inspire awe within the viewer. This collection features large flags and hand-knotted tassels crafted from fine silks, hemp, and cottons, all naturally dyed. These pieces serve as imagined relics of the future in a world stripped of much of its natural beauty due to climate change, prompting contemplation about the impact of our actions on the environment.
Through these diverse bodies of work, I engage with the collective national faith in the "American Dream." My pieces serve as both protest and homage to the trials faced by the working class in their blind pursuit of this dream, ultimately questioning: “What defines the American Dream, and is it truly attainable?”