Anastasia Greer
Anastasia Greer is an artist living and working in Marquette, Michigan. She takes a multimedia approach to painting by incorporating textiles that she hand prints, sews, and stretches. Eliciting a graphic representation of language, Anastasia’s work functions as a humorous and playful set of runes, provoking curiosity and wonder. She received her Master of Fine Arts in Visual Studies from the Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, OR, in 2016. Her work has been featured at the Oregon Museum of Contemporary Craft, Oregon Contemporary, Food52, Sight Unseen, and Nationale, among others, and is currently represented by Uprise Art.
Artist Statement
My work focuses on creating abstract visual stories with humorous titles based on mundane day-to-day activities, interactions, and the surrounding space that stay on my mind. Due to a brain tumor diagnosis, I have been inching through time, waiting for, but not wanting, changes. Throughout this time, I’ve been exploring a reflection of my life. This work has given me a place to release tension and stress while also providing myself and viewers with storytelling through comedic titles, bright colors, and repetition of shapes and color. The distorted patchwork, gradient effect, and interaction of color in my work suggest unexpected transformation and movement—something I’m not always comfortable with outside of my art, but enjoy playing with.
www.anastasiagreer.com
How has the environment you grew up in affected your art practice?
I grew up with artist parents—my mom was a quilter, and my dad was a painter. They encouraged me to experiment with different mediums and styles, which led me to my current practice—quilting and painting!
If your artwork was a mirror, what would it reflect?
My artwork would reflect my humor, curiosity, and wonder in my surroundings.
What is the most difficult part (or your least favorite part) of your process?
My least favorite part of my process is stretching and stapling the raw silk on the wood panels. It’s so tricky to get it just right. Luckily, I love to see how the fabric stretches and the shapes distort once finished.
Pursuing ‘artist’ as a career is not for the faint of heart. What is the most rewarding aspect of this pursuit?
It’s a lot of work! The most rewarding aspect is sharing my practice and ideas with people around me. It’s also what I love most about other artists.
If your art is in a lineage of artists working within similar veins, who would be part of your lineage and why?
Anni Albers! Like Albers, my textile work is a mix of contemporary art and traditional craft, along with a lot of experimentation with color.
