Anne Garvey is a contemporary visual artist based in Oakland, California. A graduate from the San Francisco Art Institute and Saint Mary’s College, she has exhibited, taught, and collaborated with fellow artists at home and abroad. Garvey works in a variety of media, but is primarily known for her realistic paintings of people and tangled objects. Her art centers around the inner human experience of a variety of mental states. Tangled elements, such as cords, yarn, and chains, serve as metaphors for different states of mind, and invite the viewer to contemplate our common struggles. Her current body of work focuses on anxiety, trauma, and resilience through personal interviews, research, and source imagery that eventually result in drawings, paintings, and installation.
Garvey’s work has been published in Memoir Magazine, TWIRL: A Decade of Artist Interviews, and the Racket Journal. She has participated as an artist-in-residence at the North Street Collective in Willits, CA, the Hoi An Recreation Center in Vietnam, Saint Vincent de Paul, and various programs throughout the bay area via San Francisco Arts Education Project and the Museum of Children’s Art. Her work has been exhibited widely in venues and galleries including L.A. Artcore and Castelli Artspace in Los Angeles, Axis Gallery in Sacramento, and Adobe Books in San Francisco.
Garvey’s work has been published in Memoir Magazine, TWIRL: A Decade of Artist Interviews, and the Racket Journal. She has participated as an artist-in-residence at the North Street Collective in Willits, CA, the Hoi An Recreation Center in Vietnam, Saint Vincent de Paul, and various programs throughout the bay area via San Francisco Arts Education Project and the Museum of Children’s Art. Her work has been exhibited widely in venues and galleries including L.A. Artcore and Castelli Artspace in Los Angeles, Axis Gallery in Sacramento, and Adobe Books in San Francisco.
Published on March 19th, 2023. Artist responses collected in months previous.
What are you fascinated with right now?
I’ve been thinking a lot about uncertainty lately, and how people deal with it. My life is in a major transition phase, both at home and work. As a result, I’ve been reading a lot about the concept of groundlessness, and learning to accept that everything is constantly in flux. Up to this point I thought I had to be “grounded” and that happiness in life meant having everything figured out and set. Now I’m trying to sit with discomfort and not run away from it so much.
At the same time, I’m fascinated by human interaction and the dynamics people create, especially in family, friend, or co-working situations. I currently work at a job with a small team, dealing with sometimes heavy, stressful circumstances beyond our control. We have become a tight family of sorts, but we still have to navigate around strong emotions and individual personalities.
I wonder how to express these ideas through my art, without being too literal. Keeping that in mind, I am exploring the lines between realism (my comfort zone), metaphor, and abstraction.
What advice would you give your younger artist self?
Without being too negative, I would tell my younger self that it never ends. I mean, having a direction and a drive is great, but goal-setting is becoming less and less important to me. Think about the kind of life you want to have right then, in the moment: what kind of people do you want to be surrounded by? What do you want to learn? In other words, the achievements are nice, but those are short moments in time. The rest of life is the daily stuff, and in terms of art, it’s what that studio practice looks like.
I also read great advice by Andrew Simonet which is: be mission-driven, rather than career-driven. That’s not to say making money and surviving isn’t important, but focusing on the “why” will sustain you through the ups and downs and make you less apt to judge yourself by others’ standards of success.
What are your tools for creative resilience these days? Do you have any methods to stay positive when life becomes difficult and perhaps when you have limited time to create?
Connecting with others continues to be the most effective way for me to stay resilient creatively. I meet once a week with at least one friend/fellow artist to share what’s happening in the studio, etc. This routine is even more important since I’ve moved my studio home and am isolated when I work for the most part. I realize I have to prioritize being out of my studio as well, seeing other people’s art, browsing for art supplies, and taking photos for possible source material. I am a restless person by nature, so staying active tends to renew my mental energy.
It can be frustrating when time gets scarce, particularly during parts of the school year. I have found it helpful to actually schedule time off from my job, so I know those extended days are set aside just for studio time. When I do have limited time during the week, I push myself to go in and work anyway, even if it’s only for an hour.
What is your dreamy vision for your creative career and art practice three years from now?
When I think of an ideal art career/practice, I imagine a workspace teeming with activity: fellow creative people working in tandem or even collaborating on larger project ideas. Although most of my art is made in relative isolation, I have found so much satisfaction lately meeting new people and partnering to realize a creative vision. I definitely want to continue exploring new places and possibilities.
Three years from now, I want the artwork to expand conceptually as I build upon my current foundation. I feel I’m at a crossroads, and whatever I am experiencing now will change my work in unpredictable ways. If I had the power to see through a window into the future, I would hope my art would show that I had the courage to take risks and be as authentic as possible.
How are you being kind to yourself as you look towards realizing your vision for your art career?
I have been incredibly fortunate these past few months in regards to opportunities to realize my visions, show my work, and partner with some amazing people. So I was surprised to find myself rather lost and uncertain as the new year began. I am having to be patient with myself and this process, which is difficult for me- I am used to being active and productive. Having a creative lull and not knowing how to proceed is terrifying. But as I mentioned before, I am learning to accept not-knowing and experiencing the discomfort head-on.
The way I’m being kind to myself is to simply pay attention to what I need, whether that’s experimenting with random materials, soaking in other artists’ work at a gallery, or taking a day off. I’m trying to allow myself to experience whatever is happening and go with it, while still looking forward to the next idea and whatever artwork ends up being created as a result of this stage in my life.
What are you fascinated with right now?
I’ve been thinking a lot about uncertainty lately, and how people deal with it. My life is in a major transition phase, both at home and work. As a result, I’ve been reading a lot about the concept of groundlessness, and learning to accept that everything is constantly in flux. Up to this point I thought I had to be “grounded” and that happiness in life meant having everything figured out and set. Now I’m trying to sit with discomfort and not run away from it so much.
At the same time, I’m fascinated by human interaction and the dynamics people create, especially in family, friend, or co-working situations. I currently work at a job with a small team, dealing with sometimes heavy, stressful circumstances beyond our control. We have become a tight family of sorts, but we still have to navigate around strong emotions and individual personalities.
I wonder how to express these ideas through my art, without being too literal. Keeping that in mind, I am exploring the lines between realism (my comfort zone), metaphor, and abstraction.
What advice would you give your younger artist self?
Without being too negative, I would tell my younger self that it never ends. I mean, having a direction and a drive is great, but goal-setting is becoming less and less important to me. Think about the kind of life you want to have right then, in the moment: what kind of people do you want to be surrounded by? What do you want to learn? In other words, the achievements are nice, but those are short moments in time. The rest of life is the daily stuff, and in terms of art, it’s what that studio practice looks like.
I also read great advice by Andrew Simonet which is: be mission-driven, rather than career-driven. That’s not to say making money and surviving isn’t important, but focusing on the “why” will sustain you through the ups and downs and make you less apt to judge yourself by others’ standards of success.
What are your tools for creative resilience these days? Do you have any methods to stay positive when life becomes difficult and perhaps when you have limited time to create?
Connecting with others continues to be the most effective way for me to stay resilient creatively. I meet once a week with at least one friend/fellow artist to share what’s happening in the studio, etc. This routine is even more important since I’ve moved my studio home and am isolated when I work for the most part. I realize I have to prioritize being out of my studio as well, seeing other people’s art, browsing for art supplies, and taking photos for possible source material. I am a restless person by nature, so staying active tends to renew my mental energy.
It can be frustrating when time gets scarce, particularly during parts of the school year. I have found it helpful to actually schedule time off from my job, so I know those extended days are set aside just for studio time. When I do have limited time during the week, I push myself to go in and work anyway, even if it’s only for an hour.
What is your dreamy vision for your creative career and art practice three years from now?
When I think of an ideal art career/practice, I imagine a workspace teeming with activity: fellow creative people working in tandem or even collaborating on larger project ideas. Although most of my art is made in relative isolation, I have found so much satisfaction lately meeting new people and partnering to realize a creative vision. I definitely want to continue exploring new places and possibilities.
Three years from now, I want the artwork to expand conceptually as I build upon my current foundation. I feel I’m at a crossroads, and whatever I am experiencing now will change my work in unpredictable ways. If I had the power to see through a window into the future, I would hope my art would show that I had the courage to take risks and be as authentic as possible.
How are you being kind to yourself as you look towards realizing your vision for your art career?
I have been incredibly fortunate these past few months in regards to opportunities to realize my visions, show my work, and partner with some amazing people. So I was surprised to find myself rather lost and uncertain as the new year began. I am having to be patient with myself and this process, which is difficult for me- I am used to being active and productive. Having a creative lull and not knowing how to proceed is terrifying. But as I mentioned before, I am learning to accept not-knowing and experiencing the discomfort head-on.
The way I’m being kind to myself is to simply pay attention to what I need, whether that’s experimenting with random materials, soaking in other artists’ work at a gallery, or taking a day off. I’m trying to allow myself to experience whatever is happening and go with it, while still looking forward to the next idea and whatever artwork ends up being created as a result of this stage in my life.
Find Anne Garvey on Instagram