Illuminated Terrains
Amber M. Jensen, Textile Artist
Lakeview Gallery
Exhibit September 8 to November 25, 2023
Jensen is a painter, textile artist, and teacher working out of her downtown Minneapolis, MN studio. Her work is an invitation for viewers to join her in a fantastical world of imagination that’s grounded in the often elusive sense of place, home, and shelter.
With an occasional addition of cotton or linen yarn, cotton batting and linen backing, woven pieces are mostly constructed with wool yarn & felt, plus acid dye.
Drawings are combinations of gouache on gessoed paper, colored pencil, grphite and conte crayon.
Artist Statement
My work is designed to be an intimate, visual invitation into the often elusive and fantastical sense of belonging that so many of us yearn for. Much like a spider weaves her web — building architecture out of her own body — each of my drawings or weavings start small and builds over time into its own densely-layered language. This unique form of communication reflects meaningful memories and deeply-felt experiences that are both mine and universal. I entwine these memories and imaginings, blending them with my active, present surroundings — the magical colors, flora and fauna, friends and family of my daily life. As you stand in front of one of my drawings or run your hands over my woven work, I welcome you to connect with your own deep knowledge, your memories of place, of home and of shelter.
Artist Bio
After living in the forest within the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina for nearly a decade, Amber returned to her childhood homeland in the Midwest. She currently is working out of a downtown art studio in Minneapolis, MN. Amber’s artworks and her studio space are an intimate, visual invitation into that often elusive and fantastical sense of belonging we so often yearn for. As you stand in front of one of her drawings, slip on one of her wearable textiles, or run your hands over her woven cloth, she welcomes you to connect with her deep knowing or feeling for sense of place, home and shelter. Woven, stitched or drawn, all her works in some fashion capture elements (sometimes unbeknownst to her!) of her home — the magical colors, flora and fauna, rivers and lakes, and the friends and family that she surrounds herself with.
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota, through a grant from the Region 2 Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
Additional funding comes from the Bemidji Area Arts Endowment, a component fund of the Northwest Minnesota Foundation.
