Angela To
Artist Statement
My art practice is centered around looking and walking. I try to set aside time each day to walk my neighborhood. I live in the North Shore neighborhood of Chattanooga, Tennessee. It is an older neighborhood with mature trees and plenty of wooded areas between the houses. I grew up in western Canada where it is cold for almost half the year. The growing season is short; it is a place where gardeners must work diligently in the short summer months to coax new growth and blooms. Tennessee’s weather is mild which in turn means a profusion of plant life that grows with abandon. Kudzu vine, Crepe Myrtle, Mimosa are a few of the trees that I see daily. The air in the spring is perfumed with the blossoms of magnolia and honey suckle. My paintings are derived from observations of natural patterns; the saturated color in flower petals, the overlapping patterns of leaves is what I delight in. The paintings are a riot of overlapping shapes and color that coalesce into surfaces packed with motion and joyous floral profusions.
Bio
Angela To is a painter of pattern and color who received her formal training at the Alberta College of Art and Design (Diploma of Fine Arts) and at the Ohio State University (Master of Fine Art). She maintains a studio in western, NY and in Chattanooga Tennessee where she is currently the Head of the Art Department at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.