Once Upon a Time, Anne Ambrose

Once Upon a Time by Anne Ambrose, acrylic on canvas is on view in the expansive art exposition, Art Ability 2011 at the Bryn Mawr Rehab Center in Malvern, PA.  The painting captures an exuberant narrative, creating a dialog between archetypal fairy tale characters, naively drawn with drippy paint and loose brush work and a contemporary palette of yellow green and chartreuse like the colors in a Clarisse Cliff tea set.  Activated color, emotive composition and expressive marks vibrate with intensity and youthful suspense like a wonderland mash up of all modern art up to now.  Anne Ambrose lives and works in Tennessee, she grew up in the bayous of Louisiana but this painting with its sophisticated impressionistic style has a very urbane vibe, the underlying outsider fantasy crosses cultures.  Of course, every good fairy tale has a villain, the glowing specter lurking behind the young couple reminds the viewer of fate; Anne, the artist has a degenerative bone disease.

The 16th Annual Art Ability International Juried Exhibition and Sale of Art and Fine Crafts by Artists with Disabilities attracts entries from around the world, this year 200 artists from 35 states and seven countries are represented.  The Exhibition committee this year, “veered away from an academic vision to one where self-taught artists and imaginative innovators have their say.“  Anne Ambrose‘s painting, Once Upon a Time, has a lot to say.

The event is held every fall. Proceeds of the Art Ability opening receptions help support Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital patient and community programs. The Bryn Mawr Rehab Art Ability show is free and open to the public located at 414 Paoli Pike, Malvern, PA 19355 484-596-5400.

Read more about Art Ability.

DoN Brewer, Contributing Writer, Side Arts

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