Artist Statement:

My research focuses on the spectrum of intimacy that exists within interpersonal relationships, public and private spaces, and queer communities in Boston, New York, and Seattle. In the wake of the violent attacks on Pulse in Miami and Club Q in Colorado Springs, I am engaging in conversations within my community to discuss why queer spaces are so important by connecting through queer joy, acceptance and closeness. While heterosexuality is centered around a measurement of achievement and succession, deeply rooted within Capitalism and pressures of productivity, homosexuality will always be condemned as a failure. We see how homosexuality can be tolerated in media when it caters to a cishet male gaze, specifically around lesbian relationships. It is through this gaze that scopophilia plays a major role in the consumption of mass media and fine art. My work depicts queer intimacy and the traces left behind as we love for one another. 

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Bio:

Amanda Pickler is an interdisciplinary artist from Seattle, WA currently residing in Boston, MA. Pickler holds a BA with Honors from the University of Washington (2019). She is currently a MFA candidate at the School of The Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University. She was a Mary Gates Leadership scholar and the recipient of a Dean's Research grant at Tufts University. She has had a wide range of group shows throughout the country and is currently focused on her thesis show in the spring. She is an active leader within her communities teaching various workshops through painting and printmaking.