Dress Like A Woman by Amber Vittoria
10"x8" ($24) | 14"x11" ($60) | 20"x16" ($240) | 30"x24" ($1200)
Amber Vittoria’s art is far from ordinary. You’re likely to lock eyes with her work in part because of her predilection for luscious shapes, and her candyland of colors. Bright, cheeky, and exuberant with an underlying investment in the exploration of physicality and femininity, Vittoria’s work feels—in a word—fresh. The New York City-based illustrator’s debut edition, Dress Like A Woman, takes that novelty to the next level...
Darker, finer lines punctuate fluid, organic, color-blocked forms. Small moments of breathing room reveal the background through her central characters, creating a sense of movement. Just peep the toes and fingertips in today’s edition. There’s intensity and vitality to these gestures. Our long-legged focal point is ambiguous around the edges, impossible to pin down. She is, it almost seems, an evolving being.
Imagine that? A feminine figure impossible to essentialize.
The female form is of particular interest to Vittoria. This artist’s images are expressive without being too specific. They evoke but don’t prescribe. Looking at Dress Like A Woman you might think perhaps that’s the point—womanhood isn’t unequivocal. It can’t be spelled out or summed up by some tired trope, teetering on the precipice of provocative and coquettish. Fortunately, the human race is much richer than that.
The representation of traditional feminine ideals is especially interesting to Vittoria. Or rather, it’s especially boring. The female figure appears all over in the annals of art history and on the walls of the world’s museums—but rarely rendered by women (usually some sort of stale stereotype). In several of her pieces, Vittoria makes it her mission to dismantle those physical gender norms or turn them on their heads. For instance, the star of Dress Like A Woman seems to hike up her skivvies so we can get a good look at her gorgeous, sturdy, hairy legs. Her abstracted expression is hard to read, but “matter-of-fact” comes to mind.
Dress Like A Woman is bold, minimal and unapologetic. It’s also beautiful. And let’s not forget the vivid colors and pop-y shapes that initially caught our eye—our visual cue to slow clap for what Vittoria calls “the power, strength and intelligence of the woman”.
With art for everyone,
Jen Bekman + Team 20x200
