Amanda Richardson
Amanda Richardson was born in Cornwall in 1957 and has lived there for much of her life. She left to take her degree in Fine Art Textiles at Goldsmiths’ College, London University, but her work is essentially involved with wild places and so she was drawn back to her county. In 1986 she left again, spending ten years on San Juan Island in the Pacific North West of America, working in its dramatic landscape of islands, mountains and water. Further travels have taken her north to Alaska and south as far as New Zealand. Her work reflects a particular fascination with plants as they grow in their native environment, and with rock shaped by wind and water.
Amanda’s garden is also a dominant theme in her work, allowing her to create plant combinations and observe them in differing light.
Influenced by the position, in a valley near the Land’s End, the garden has a wild feel with the cultivated land flowing naturally into the woodland beyond. The Penberth River runs through the property and a large pond provides the perfect habitat for aquatic plants and insects. Amanda is able to work directly from flowers gathered from the garden, essential with techniques that are studio based.
Amanda Richardson’s unique textile art combines rich, light-reflective fabrics to form bold images that respond to their environment. The image varies with the angle and intensity of light, allowing the viewer to become actively involved in the artistic experience.
Fabrics are selected for each element of the composition from Amanda’s extensive collection of silks, satins, velvets and brocades. Each piece is hand dyed to create fine variations of tone and colour. A layer of glue is then applied to the back of the fabrics. This holds the weave together and allows clean lines and fine details to be cut. The image is gradually built up, layer upon layer with colours and textures coming together to form an image that gives the impression of great spatial depth.
Much of the artist’s work is commissioned; she has created large-scale artworks for major corporate buildings. Clients include Boeing, University of Alaska, BASF, Marriott Hotels, Hilton Hotels, The Rouse Co., and The Oliver Carr Co.. Despite the success she found in the US, Cornwall has remained Amanda’s emotional home and in 1996 she returned to live in Cornwall where she continues both with her commissioned work and gallery exhibitions.
PLACE OF BIRTH Cornwall, England
EDUCATION
1973-74 Penzance Art School
1974-75 Falmouth School of Art (Foundation Course)
1975-78 London University, Goldsmith’s College of Art, B.A. Honours
ONE MAN EXHIBITIONS
2007 ‘Blossoms and Bugs’ RHS Lindley Library, London, England
2005 Waterworks Gallery, Friday Harbor, WA, USA
2004 ‘A Wilder Garden’, Royal Cornwall Museum, England
2004 ‘From Valley Garden to Boulder Shore’, Trebah, Cornwall, England
2003 Running Ridge Gallery, Santa Fe, NM, USA
2001 Waterworks Gallery, Friday Harbor, WA, USA
2000 Running Ridge Gallery, Santa Fe, NM, USA
1998 Waterworks Gallery, Friday Harbor, WA, USA
1997 Running Ridge Gallery, Santa Fe, NM, USA
1994 Running Ridge Gallery, Santa Fe, NM, USA
1988 Running Ridge Gallery, Santa Fe, NM, USA
1987 Incorporated Gallery, New York, NY, USA
1986 Wrubel Gallery, Berkely, CA, USA
1985 ‘Intracacies of Landscape’, Abbot Hall, Cumbria, England
1984 Running Ridge Gallery, Santa Fe, NM, USA
1984 ‘Wild and Rambling Gardens’, Brotherton Gallery, London, England
1982 Parnham House, Dorset, England
1982 ‘Landscapes and Flowers of the West Country’, Brotherton Gallery, London, England
1980 Bodmin Fine Arts, Bodmin, Cornwall, England
AWARDS AND MAJOR COMMISSIONS
2008 Sacred Heart Medical Center, Eugene, Oregon, USA, ‘Rhododendrons over Water’ Oil on Canvas: 2’11” x 11’7
2007 Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago, USA, ‘Lupines and Grasses’ Oil on Canvas: 6’ x 12’
2004 The Lodge at Rancho Mirage, Palm Springs, CA, USA, ‘Nolina’ Mixed Media on Canvas: 4’ x 10’
1998 Irvine Marriott CA, USA, ‘South Coast Vista’ Mixed Media on canvas: 4’ x 10’
1997 Boeing, WA, USA, ‘Sky’ Mixed Media on canvas: 5’ x 12’
1997 American Home Products, NJ, USA ‘Vineyards and Lavender Fields’, Mixed Media on canvas: 4’ x 20’
1995 Dana Point Resort, CA, USA ‘Sunlit Shore’, Mixed Media on canvas: 3’ x 15’
1994 BASF, U.S.A. Headquarters, New Jersey, ‘Woodland Cascade’,
Mixed Media on canvas: 10’4” x 9’5”
1993 University of Washington, Marine Laboritories ‘San Juan Invertebrates’
Mixed Media on canvas: 4’5” x 6’
1992 Private Commission, Friday Harbor, WA, USA, ‘Pear Point’
Mixed Media on canvas: 7’ x 5’
1991 South Lake Tahoe Embassy Suites, CA, USA, ‘Crescent Sand’
Mixed Media on canvas:5’ x 16’
1990 University of Alaska, Juneau Campas, Alaska State Council on the Arts;
‘Granite Shore, Shuyak’ Mixed Media on canvas:6’6” x 19’
1990 Riverfront Plaza, Richmond, Virginia, USA, Daniel Corporation ‘Woodland River’ & ‘Riverside Iris’, Mixed Media on canvas: each 4’ x 13’6”
1990 Waterfront Towers, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, Stark Ventures, ‘Shaded Pool’ & ‘Lion’s Head Waterspout’, Mixed Media on canvas: each 4’ x 8’
1989 The Commercial National Bank Building, Washington D.C., USA The Oliver Carr Co. ‘East Anglian Urn’ & ‘Evening Sunlight East Anglia’,
Mixed Media on canvas: each 12’ x 6’
1989 Madison House Seattle, WA, USA Totem Lake Associates, ‘Willow Pools’ & ‘Cascade Meadow Lupines’ , Mixed Media on canvas: each 4’6” x 8’
1989 Mariott Suites Hotel, Bethesda, Maryland, USA ‘Belgian Garden’
Mixed Media on canvas: 10’ x 5’6”
1988 Westlake Center, Seattle, WA, USA The Rouse Co. & Koeler McFaden; Westlake Assoc., ‘Sandstone Cliff’, Mixed Media on canvas: 15’6” x 10’6”
1987 Minneapolis-St Paul Airport Hilton, MN, USA ‘High Sierra Junipers’, Mixed Media on canvas:10’ x 8’
1987 C.M.L. Group, Boston, MA, USA, ‘Woodland Garden’, Mixed Media on Canvas; 5’ x 7’
1980 Grolla D’oro International Art Award; Venice, Italy
1979 Commission by the Marquess of Bath to mark Longleat’s 400th Anniversary,
‘The Longleat Tree’, Mixed Media on canvas; 9’ x 7’
JOINT EXHIBITIONS
2003 Yew Tree Gallery, Cornwall
1990, 2004 Zenith Gallery, Washington D.C.
1980 Inter Celtic Festival, Lorient, Brittany, France
1979 Borlase Gallery, Oxfordshire, England
Seymour Gallery, London, England
1978 Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, London, England
Design Council of Great Britain, Texprint ‘78, London