Skip to main content

Anya Roberts-Toney








We first saw Anya Roberts-Toney’s work on the Stephanie Cheftas Projects Instagram (@stephaniechefasprojects). Being suckers for brushwork, dreamy color choices, and nuances of mystery and femininity, we had to learn more about her and her work. It became obvious she was a great choice to be featured on the blog! We hope you enjoy learning more about her and her work as much as we did!

Anya Roberts-Toney received her BA from Brown University in Providence, RI and her MFA from Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, OR. Her work has been exhibited locally and nationally at locations including Disjecta Contemporary Art Center, Dust to Dust Projects, Killjoy Collective, The Portland ‘Pataphysical Society, the Office at Russo Lee Gallery, Somos Gallery, and Stephanie Chefas Projects, and she is a recent recipient of the Stumptown Artist Fellowship. Originally from Seattle, WA, she currently lives and works in Portland, OR.

Explaining more about her work, she states:

In my current practice I combine imagery related to femininity with disruptive elements in order to consider feminine power: what it looks like, how we learn it, and the depth of its capacity. I’m interested in the slippery nature of femininity—how it is inexorably tied to the beauty ideals and cultural expectations prescribed by images in women’s magazines and other media aimed at women. These images so often present femininity as a coupling of power and lack of power: the glamorous woman looks off balance; glossy lips share a face with fearful eyes; a romantic kiss includes a hint of sorrow. At the same time, I’m interested in a deeper idea of feminine power that encompasses a connection to the earth, nurturing, sensuality, and primal strength.

In painting, the female body has historically been presented spread out and prone, allowing easy consumption by an assumed-to-be-male viewer. Likewise, traditional still life painting has presented objects—and frequently flowers (so often associated with femininity)—straight on and unobscured. In my own paintings, I’m interested in complicating this ease of consumption by introducing disruptive elements such as drips, blurs, crops, impasto, and heightened color. My intention is for these elements to create a sense of unease and of underlying power: that beneath the familiar signals of femininity lies something boiling.

You can view her work at www.anyarobertstoney.com and follow @anyajrt on Instagram.

Artwork images courtesy of Mario Gallucci (https://www.mariogallucciphoto.com/ Instagram @mariogalluccistudio)



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Raili Jänese

Capturing personality in a painting is no easy task, especially when it comes to animals. Raili Jänese creates graphic inspired work, in which she explores the nature of various domestic and wild animals, giving life and personality in two dimensional forms, using just a few lines!
Raili Jänese is a self-taught artist from Estonia, who has always been interested in visual arts and design. She moved to Seattle WA in 2018, where she decided to change career paths and follow her passion for creating art.
Curious about animals and their behavior, she utilizes different characters and shapes in her work. She has enjoyed observing and being around animals since childhood, trying to figure out their nature. She is fascinated by how much an animal can tell us without words; serving as inspiration for simplified shapes on her paintings.
In addition to  painting with acrylic mediums, Raili is interested in graphic design and digital art.  She can be often found sketching something on her tablet …
1 comment
Read more

Sally West

Vibrant, dreamy color schemes, sumptuous textures, and a modern approach to landscapes, we loved Sally West’s work the first time we saw it! Naturally we had to reach out to have her on the blog J
Sally West studied at KVB College Of Visual Communication in North Sydney and received her bachelor of visual communication in 1995. Following graduation, West traveled throughout Asia and spent a year in Ireland, where she worked in graphic design, producing and selling artwork and doing portraits. After moving to Bondi, New South Wales in 1998 she began working at Wadi Gallery, participating in group exhibitions and selling artwork at the Bondi Markets. The same year, she had her first major solo exhibition (The Journey) at the Bondi Pavillion. West spent the next year traveling through India and Nepal, meeting other inspiring artists and another major solo exhibition. West returned to New South Wales in 2000. She has continued to show work worldwide including Australia and New York. She li…
Post a Comment
Read more

Jo Illustrates!

8 comments
Read more