About

Artist Statement

With a foundation in stained glass and metalsmithing, I create decorative sculptures that blend traditional craftsmanship with a contemporary edge. Glass becomes a structural element, allowing me to construct multi-dimensional, layered compositions. While my work is inspired by the bold colors and forms of Pop Art, its intimate craftsmanship evokes the sense of something much more reserved and clever—as if inviting the viewer to solve a deceivingly easy puzzle.

At the core of my practice is an exploration of the disconnect between my external presence and my internal world. I am unsettled by the idea that I exist as two distinct versions of myself—one that is perceived by others and another that remains known only to me. This tension is mirrored in the metaphors I return to: public transportation and the myth of the “artistic genius.” Public transit dictates the movement and visibility of my body, while the notion of artistic genius shapes my inner anxieties about creation and legacy. One considers the immediate and the practical (“Which train car should I get on?”), while the other grapples with history and permanence (“Am I making art that will interest future historians?”). Though these ideas feel distant from each other, they intersect in my work—linked not just by interstate railways but by the passage of time itself.

Bio

Amanda Smithivas (b. 2003, Chicago) is concerned with telling the artist condition—both romanticizing and problematizing the artist’s mythical presence in cultural memory. In her practice, she attempts to get as close to surrealist automatism as is possible within the limits of glass and metal fabrication. She is best known for her stained glass sculptures, which combine decorative aesthetics with a contemporary edge. While completing her BFA at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, Amanda is also exhibiting work at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and Gray Area at Hawthorne Contemporary. She is currently doing a residency at the New York Arts Program. Amanda is based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.