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Amy Laskin, born in Philadelphia and currently residing in the rural Blue Mountains of Jamaica, is celebrated for her captivating, lush landscapes. Her artworks, primarily oils on linen, feature undulating mountains and native flora, often depicted as mythical female entities in intricate floral compositions.
Amy earned her MFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) in the late 1970s and spent a decade in Chicago, exhibiting her work and teaching. Her journey to Jamaica began as a US Peace Corps Volunteer, where she was enchanted by the country’s tropical beauty, diverse ethnicity, and rich multicultural layers. After her contract ended, she chose to stay, drawn by the verdant landscapes and unusual plant forms, and set up her studio in the Blue Mountains.
Amy’s art career is marked by extensive exhibitions both in Jamaica and abroad. She is represented by several galleries in the Western Hemisphere, and OMSA Gallery in Fort Lauderdale is lucky to have her. Her prolific career has seen her through many solo exhibitions, group shows and art fairs nationally and in the islands.
Her accolades include a solo museum exhibition at the Berman Museum of Art in Collegeville, PA. Her artworks are part of permanent collections at the National Gallery of Jamaica, the Bank of Jamaica, and the Phillip and Muriel Museum at Ursinus College.
Amy’s art is also in numerous private and corporate collections in the US and internationally, and has graced book covers and art magazines.
Amy’s distinctive style blends the visual influences of her Chicago years—surrealism, decorative abundance, and detailed artistry—with the natural beauty of her Jamaican environment, creating a unique and compelling body of work.
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Research for my work begins with intense observation. I constantly hunt, discover and collect, save images and make models.
I study patterns and scrutinize everyday objects in my environment. I observe how they look, how they feel, how they grow, the color shape, texture, form, and continually make decisions about what fascinates me whether it is organic or man-made.
I ponder how to control illusion and describe the atmosphere. I hunt for ways to combine compose and synthesize in order to create new contexts and visual foils for these disparate components.
They are amalgamated to form fantastical anonymous feminine figures which brings our focus to the mystique of nature, gender and identity. They are a botanical explosion of body and bloom, and a celebration of the empowerment of womankind.
Creating in the naturalness of rural Jamaica somehow allows me to feel the interconnectedness and the points of intersection between the nature/ human interface. When my process begins, the meaning and end result is not evident to me. It’s an additive process that unfolds as I combine various elements of my fascination.
I embrace the notion that humankind and our natural environment are interconnected and it is important we understand this connection as our plant is in peril.
