ALY YTTERBERG

ARTIST BIO:

Aly Ytterberg is a hard-edge, color-block artist from St. Louis, Missouri who finds inspiration in nature, rural landscapes, and the memories that people connect with different places. She currently works primarily with acrylic paint on canvas, board or paper. Aly received her BFA in Sculpture from Washington University in St. Louis where her work focused on using found materials and objects to tell stories about the people that once used them. Her work has transitioned to painting over the years for practical reasons (mostly space and time and becoming a mom), but she keeps that connection to memories tied to places or objects in her 2D work as well. Aly has shown her work in local and regional shows as well as having pieces in galleries, corporate offices, homes, healthcare facilities, and other collections across the United States. Her work has been featured in articles, publications, and a book. Aly calls herself a mother-artist. Her full-time job is being a stay-at-home-mom to her 7-year-old son and twin 5- year-old sons. She primarily paints during her sons’ rest times now and loves every minute of this crazy stage of life.

ARTIST STATEMENT FOR SOLO EXHIBITION: BETWEEN HERE AND THERE

My current body of work draws inspiration from photos taken while driving through or exploring within the American landscape. We are in the car a good deal to visit family and I used to find these drives monotonous and not so fun, especially with little children in the car…! But, then I realized how certain places and structures became waymarkers along our drives. Almost like little beacons of time, connecting our trips, our journeys, and our stories throughout the years to those around us. I’m drawn to old structures, linear fields, the human touch found in nature, and the stories that these places could tell if only they could talk. I am particularly intrigued by places that might normally be overlooked by those driving by or places that just kind of spark that little thought of having seen it before – a déjà vu moment.  There’s a purposeful ambiguity of exact location when I design these landscapes and this is to allow the viewer’s imagination and memory bank to swirl. The paintings seem to tell different stories to everyone that sees them. A unique connection to every viewer, which I love.