ILUS-206

BFA Illustration, Herron School of Art and Design, Indiana University, 2004. 
MFA Visual Studies, Pacific Northwest College of Art, 2016.

Amory upholds a rigorous studio practice alongside teaching full time as core faculty in the illustration department. Following a 10+ year illustration practice with clients including Penguin Books, Authorhouse, and ALPHA Books, his work has evolved toward the gallery space. His recent studio work explores eco-theological themes, using charcoal to create large-scale landscapes that are dark, melancholy explorations. His teaching style reflects his personal ways of working; through intense discipline, playful curiosity, and prolific practice. 

The world is full of potential obstacles and limitations to the flow and movement of life. The logic of Late-capitalism is no exception. To navigate a particular environment, plants and animals (both human and non-human) need many complex attributes. Animals for instance, require muscular intelligence, mental processes such as self-awareness and awareness of others, as well as the ability to respond to our surroundings. This includes creativity and imagination (Art). Even at its most instinctive level, behaviour shows these capacities and potentials. Otherwise, life in any form would not be able to survive in unpredictable and precarious situations.

Jesse Garbe’s work investigates our relationship with nature. It puts forward the idea that paintings, diagrams, taxidermy and other visual aids play a significant role in how we understand animals, plants and their habitats.

He is also an avid bird watcher, citizen scientist and general advocate of the ornithological.