AMY BERNAYS

British-born artist Amy Bernays lives and works in Los Angeles, California. A graduate from Central St Martins in 2001, her work is a mix of paintings, prints and drawings with influences ranging from Ken Howard to Edgar Degas. Amy's work has been exhibited at various galleries and art fairs in London and the States. In 2006 she was shortlisted for the Mercury Art Prize and last year took part in the prestigious Art for Youth exhibition at the Mall Galleries. Amy's most recent solo exhibition, Behind the Scenes, at the Arclight Cinema in California focused on the unsung heroes of motion pictures, the animals, a subject close to her heart from working as an animal trainer.

For this series, Amy has revisited one of her most inspiringsubjects: 'I am fascinated by the play of light on water. I first got lost in the fast flow of rivers and streams that trickle off Dartmoor and carried this with me to California. I like the contemplative quality of water, its intensity and movement. My water paintings are a meditation on life'.

Selected Exhibitions

  • Art for Youth, Mall Galleries, London 2008
  • Centered on the Center, Huntingdon Beach Art Center, Orange County, California 2008
  • Short listed: Mercury Art Prize, London 2006
  • Water Show, Hammersmith 2006
  • New America, Beverly Hills 2003
  • BA (Honours) Degree Show, Central St Martins College, 2001
  • Exhibited and solely curated: The Elgin Marvels, The Beat Bar, Portobello Rd, 2000
  • Exhibited and co-curated: Foreign Bodies, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Bloomsbury, 2000
  • Exhibit 99, annual showcase of fine art from all London Institute colleges, 1999
  • Mythic Garden, outdoor sculpture park in Devon, 1997,1998