Then is Now: Works by Ani Hoover

AKMA is proud to present a selection of works by contemporary artist, Ani Hoover. Works will be on view September 23, 2023-November 5, 2023. Opening reception will be held on Friday, September 22 from 4-7 pm. Opening receptions are free and open to the public. A cash bar and light refreshments will be available.

Ani Hoover is an American artist based in Buffalo, NY.  She grew up near the Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art on Belnor Drive in St. Joseph, MO.  Hoover remembers seeing Fairfield Porter’s portrait and Thomas Hart Benton’s “Custer’s Last Stand” on exhibit and taking classes in the kitchen at the AKMA.  Like many artists growing up in the 1980s, she idolized the Impressionist painters Vincent Van Gogh, George Seurat, and Claude Monet. Unsurprisingly, color remains one of the most recognizable aspects of Hoover’s work.

After more than a decade of working as a painter, Hoover’s work now includes sculpture and fiber-based techniques. Ani will often begin a piece referencing classic vintage craft technique or pattern, and from there, she will amplify it through repetition, scale, or by creating it using alternative materials. Some examples are crochet granny squares, yo-yo quilt medallions, memory-encrusted jugs, and pony-bead buddies. Hoover picked up many of these techniques by reading her grandmother’s Workbasket magazines, attending craft fairs at the East Hills Mall, and visiting Joann Fabrics.

The work in “Now is Then” spans roughly 2010-2023, with the majority created since 2017. This nearly decade is significant because it corresponds with considerable life challenges for Hoover,  prompting her to examine her artistic development. In this work, Hoover re-sifts memories using materials specific to her creative upbringing. The resulting art objects are imbued with energy, serving as commemorations that are both contemporary and nostalgic, personal and familiar.

The color in Hoover’s work reflects consumerism and capitalist America. The color present is a combination of found materials, i.e., trash and commercial art material–like yarn, thread, and glitter. The result re-affirms the connection to contemporary American culture rather than hiding it.

Hoover attended Central High School (‘88), Southwest Missouri State, now Missouri State in Springfield, MO (‘92); in 1993, she moved to Washington, DC, to attend graduate school at American University.  She spent some time in Baltimore before moving to Buffalo, NY, in 2002, where she resides today with her partner Wayne Magyar and her cat, Yugo.

 Her work is in the collection of the Burchfield-Penney Art Center, the University of Buffalo’s Art Galleries, and the Buffalo AKG Museum (formerly the Albright Knox Art Gallery), as well as in several prominent public collections, including Roswell Park Cancer Institute and Oishei Children’s Hospital (Buffalo, NY).

Some works and ideas in “Then is Now” were first presented at Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center in the exhibit “Memory” (2014), “Craft Art Field Day” at Buffalo Arts Center in 2017, and “Forget Me Not” at the Burchfield Penney Art Center in Buffalo, NY in 2021.