Amy Orr is a multimedia artist whose work often involves the reinvention of manufactured materials; plastic and plastic cards in particular. The understanding and perception of plastic and ephemera is changing quickly. Where Amy’s work was once a lighthearted narrative about consumerism and culture, it is now overshadowed by the environmental disaster that our single-use practice has caused.
Amy is drawn to materials for their color, abundance and original intent. Whether constructing a patterned composition or figurative mosaic, the plastic fragments become a sparkling wasteland of personal histories and common stories. With a background in textiles, Orr’s work can be understood with references to the crazy quilt, in which fabric scraps are pieced together to create a whole cloth that is greater then the sum of its parts.
Previously a tenured professor, administrator, designer, and art publication editor, Amy Orr is now a studio and street artist. She accepts commissions for portraits, logos and architectural installations.
1997 Donohoe, Victoria, "Of Power of Paper", Philadelphia Inquirer, February 1997
1989 Eliot, Robert, "Beasties, Beauties and other Wonders" Art Matters, Page, 15, July 1989
Collections
Commissions
Royal Bank of Canada Park Towne Place, Philadelphia, PA Children's Hospital of Boston, MA Chicago Area Transportation Commission, IL Marcia and Allen Doctor, NY Clara Hollander, Philadelphia, PA Abby Taubin and Hans Geberbauer, London, UK
Professional Experience
2020 Art Quilt Elements, Wayne Art Center, Wayne, PA Juror
2017 People's Emergency Center, Philadelphia, PA Teaching Artist
2016 - 2017 Germantown Home and Life Centers, Philadelphia, PA Teaching Artist
2001 - 2017 Moore College of Art and Design, Philadelphia, PA Adjunct Faculty
2010 - 2013 Director, FiberPhiladelphia
2008, 2010 Coordinator, FiberPhiladelphia
2007 - 2009 Tyler School of Art, Temple University, Elkins Park, PA Adjunct Associate Professor, Crafts
1986 - 2007 Rosemont College, Rosemont, PA Associate Professor, Arts Division
2006 Villanova University in Sienna, Italy Adjunct Instructor
Art Quilt Elements, Philadelphia Art Alliance, Philadelphia, PA Juror
2005 LINC Philadelphia, National Arts Initiative, Pew and Bartol Foundations Participant
2004 - 2005 Main Line Art Center, Haverford, PA Panelist
2004 Textile Study Group, NY Lecturer
1988 Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow, Scotland Visiting Artist
1981 - 1986 Bucks County Community College, Newtown, PA Program Director, Artmobile
1982 - 1987 Adjunct Instructor, Fibers & Art Education, University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA
1981 - 1987 Pennsylvania Academy Of The Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA Banner Designs and Production
Projects
2013 - present Street Interventions
2013 "Made in Philadelphia" Billboard, CFEVA, Knight Foundation and the Greater Philadelphia Tourism and Marketing Corporation
2012 "Structure and Surface", Mural Arts and the Pew Center for Arts and Heritage
2012 "FiberPhiladelphia2012", Orchestrated International Conference and Exhibitions, Director
1984 - 1999 The Artist's Guide to Philadelphia, 5 editions
Exhibitions
Solo
2015 West Philly Relics, The Gold Standard, Philadelphia, PA
2009 Plastic Culture, Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts, Wilmington, DE
