About

Bio

Amanda Bristow is an artist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her drawings, paintings, and sculptures utilize the human figure as a way to explore and convey her experiences as a fat, neurodivergent woman raising children in a late-stage capitalist society.

Amanda graduated summa cum laude from California State University East Bay in 2023 with a BA in Studio Art and Liberal Studies. She is an MFA candidate at California College of the Arts. Her work has been exhibited at ICA San Francisco, Root Division, Drawing Room, PLAySPACE Gallery, and other galleries.

Statement

Our bodies are friend and foe: vehicles for our greatest joys, and fleshy prisons threatened by illness, injury, and the whims of others. Although we have shockingly little control over the function or appearance of our bodies, much of our value to society is determined by exactly those attributes. Through painting, drawing and sculptural work I use the body as a vehicle to explore and discuss the human experience.

Functioning as a space for reflection, meditation, and self-care, my practice is intentionally slow, allowing for highly rendered, detailed work. As I work, I think about the need for community, material and moral support, and better access to resources for the most vulnerable people. The time spent with my subjects is a way to properly acknowledge and demonstrate their worthiness and to create room for my own thoughts and feelings.

Recent topics in my work include grief, mental and physical illness, loneliness, and the effect of capitalism on our sense of connection and well-being. I depict the world as I would like to see it, accessing the imaginary as a form of manifestation and provoking a shift in perception for the viewer.