Amy Ross at Rare Device

Exhibition dates: June 6, 2008 – July 8, 2008; reception date: June 6, 7 - 9 pm

San Francisco design store and gallery, Rare Device, is proud to present Shapeshifter: New Work by Amy Ross (http://www.amyross.com/). Her work will occupy the Rare Device gallery June 6, 2008 – July 8, 2008. A reception for the artist will be held Friday, June 6 from 7 - 9 pm.

“Shapeshifting” is the common element in Ross’ magical work—the blending of animal with plant or other objects is central to her story. Calling to mind folklore and mythology and cautionary tales of genetic engineering gone wrong, Ross’ drawings portray hybrid creatures formed by the morphing and splicing of flora and fauna. Ross is interested in the idea of artist as both storyteller and mad scientist: creator of a new version of the natural world, one in which quails bloom from the buds of a magnolia tree; mushroom-headed woodpeckers perch on tree stumps; and women with the heads of wolves roam the forest. She work largely in watercolor and add collage elements into her work.

Amy Ross grew up in New Jersey, earned her BA in Religious Studies at Connecticut College, and holds a Master’s degree in Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School. She also attended the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston from 1998-2000. Shehas had solo exhibitions at Jen Bekman Gallery (New York, NY); Allston Skirt Gallery (Boston, MA); Romo Gallery (Atlanta, GA); Schlosberg Gallery at Montserrat College of Art (Beverly, MA); Motel (Portland, OR); and Overtones (Los Angeles, CA). Her work has been included in numerous group shows, including the DeCordova Museum (Lincoln, MA); Cleveland State University Art Gallery (Cleveland, OH); Project 4 (Washington, DC); The Cantor Gallery at the College of the Holy Cross (Worcester, MA); and Morgan Lehman Gallery (New York, NY). Her work has been reviewed in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Boston Phoenix, The Washington Post, The Portland Mercury, The Cleveland Plain Dealer, The Seattle Times, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Rare Device is a store and gallery that features functional experiments and original ideas in art, design, craft and fabrication. Owners Rena Tom and Lisa Congdon constantly seek out objects that are beautiful, evocative, well constructed and thoughtful. We are pleased to bring to our San Francisco store an ever-growing roster of local, national and international artists and designers for a truly "rare" experience.

Rare Device (raredevice.net) is located at 1845 Market Street between Valencia and Guerrero Streets. Store/gallery hours are Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday, noon to 7pm, Thursday noon to 9 pm and Sunday noon to 6 pm.