Zoe Ani

Artist Statement:

My work ranges from representational to abstract landscapes, which is enriched by my Hawaiian and American Indian heritage. Inspiration comes from the stories I've been told, newspapers I read, relationships I enjoy and struggle with and the deluge of images that inundate my senses. The inevitable loss of those links to my history is my impetus to create.

I explore various mediums, where each brings a unique characteristic challenge on my path to stay present. The focus I put into building and creating makes the world more authentic for me. This is the context of my approach in the studio. It is my best way to participate.

Zoe began drawing as a teenager in Southern Oregon. She developed her skills in drawing during her travels and forged a unique art education by pursuing opportunities to learn and work in alternative settings. She began painting at The Art Students League in New York City from 1998 to 2002. She worked primarily in oil. She continued to pursue her craft in her tiny studio in Brooklyn, NY. In 2005 she transitioned from working in oil to encaustic painting after attending a workshop at Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina.

Zoe received a VSC partial fellowship to the Vermont Studio 2012. She has exhibited at the Painting Center in New York and was included in a National Juried Exhibition, "Working in Wax", at the Bedford Gallery-Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek, CA. She was included in "The Future of the Past: Encaustic Art in the 21st Century at the Mills Gallery in Boston, MA and will participate in an invitational group show entitled "Metopolitan" at the Strychnin Gallery in Berlin Germany.