Amy Hibbs addresses issues of environmental decay and human dis-integration through a practice that encompasses drawing, photography, printmaking, and social practice. Gathering inspiration from her surroundings in San Jose’s urban streets and gardens, she seeks to reunite and bring wholeness to what is discarded. Hibbs’s practice spotlights ideas that increase healing for individuals, communities, and ecosystems, highlighting dualities of joy and pain, beauty and disgust, slow and fast.
Born in Livermore, California, Hibbs enjoyed extended travels before settling in San Jose. She attended Mills College in Oakland, California, where she received her MFA in 2003, ten years after receiving her BA at the same institution. She is the recipient of the graduate affiliate award from the Headlands Center for the Arts (2003-2005), and has participated in the Being Human residency (2018) and the 2019 printmaking residency at the Palo Alto Art Center. She was named a 2022 Creative Ambassador for the City of San Jose through their Office of Cultural Affairs.
Her work shows locally at various venues including the Palo Alto Art Center, Gallery 1202, the Art Ark Gallery, and at the Art on Paper Fair, in New York City.
Amy Hibbs c.v.
Lives and works in San Jose, California
Education
1993 Bachelor of Arts, Mills College, Oakland, CA
2003 Master of Fine Arts, Mills College, Oakland, CA
Selected Awards/Residencies/Press
California Arts Council Individual Artist Fellow Grant, 2023
San Jose Creative Ambassador, 2022, Office of Cultural Affairs, San Jose, California
Printmaking Residency, Palo Alto Art Center, 2019
“Being Human” Residency, Palo Alto Art Center, 2018. A collaborative residency exploring what it means to be an artist and a parent. Jill Miller, facilitator.
Cubberley Studio Award, Palo Alto, 2007-2012
Affiliate Artist Award, Headlands Center for the Arts, 2004-2005
MFA Studio Award, Headlands Center for the Arts, 2003-2004
Exhibitions
2023
The Natural Other, group exhibition, Mercury20 Gallery, Oakland, CA
The Transformation Station
San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, CA, August 13, 2023
2022
The Transformation Station, public engagement project involving bad thoughts and composting worms. Funded through the City of San Jose’s Office of Cultural Affairs in my position as a Creative Ambassador in 2022.
Recovery Cafe, San Jose, March 2022
Museum of Quilts and Textiles Community Day, May 21, 2022
San Jose ICA Block Party, July 23, 2022
San Jose Museum of Art, City Dance Community Event, August 18, 2022
Content Magazine Release party, September 1, 2022
Veggielution First Saturday farm workday, September 3, 2022
School of Visual Philosophy, 2nd Saturday Art Dialogues, October 8, 2022
2021
Traces, a group exhibition with members of WEAD, Women Eco Artists Dialogue, Village Theater Art Gallery, Danville, CA
Left Coast Annual, Sanchez Art Center, Pacifica, CA
Into That Dark Sea, Art Ark Gallery, San Jose, CA
Paper and Fiber, Gallery 1202, Gilroy, CA
Art On Paper Fair, New York City, NY
Art on the Edge: From Extraction to Restoration and Regeneration, international group exhibition, one portion of which was on view at the Peninsula Museum of Art, San Bruno, CA
Renewal: Small Works group show at Gallery 1202, Gilroy, CA
2020
Holding the Moment, exhibition shown in the San Jose International Airport, organized by department of public art, San Jose, CA
Holding it Together, Palo Alto Art Center, Palo Alto, CA
Gatherings Project, “An art and poetry based experiment in giving and receiving",” developed to raise money for arts organizations and artists during the time of Covid. Shown at Patricia Rozvar Gallery, Seattle, Washington, and Gail Severn Gallery, Ketchum, Idaho.
From Plates to Plants: The Art and Science of Composting, Online exhibition with LES Ecology Center, New York City, NY
Bahala na, Art Ark Gallery, San Jose, CA
2019
Ruin to Runes, 3-person exhibition, Art Ark Gallery, San Jose, CA
Interwoven Time, group exhibition, Art Ark Gallery, San Jose, CA
2018
Misfit Maker Factory, Root Division, San Francisco, CA
Residency at Palo Alto Art Center: Being Human, collaborative residency exploring what it means to be an artist and a parent. Jill Miller, facilitator.
Turgor Pressure, Peephole Cinema, San Francisco, CA, group video exhibition
The More the Merrier, Art Ark, San Jose, CA
Blown Up Bridal Bouquet, Bewilder Floral, Berkeley, CA
2017
Misfit Maker Factory, Root Division, San Fransisco, CA
2016
Lovers & Other Strangers, Branner Spanenberg Gallery, Redwood City, CA
Summer Bacchanal, Branner Spangenberg Gallery, Redwood City, CA
Politics (NOT) as Usual, Branner Spangenberg Gallery, Redwood City, CA
Misfit Toy Factory, Root Division, San Francisco, CA
2015
Misfit Toy Factory, Root Division, San Francisco, CA
2014
85 Years, 85 Artists, Menlo College Gallery, Menlo Park, CA
2013
Dialoguing with Sacred Text: Sacred Texts Past, Present and Future, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara
Peaceable Kingdom, Bedford Gallery, Walnut Creek
2012
Graphite, Inks, and Other Means, Palo Alto City Hall
The Victoria Crown Affair, Castilleja School, Palo Alto
Misfit Toy Factory, Root Division, San Francisco
2011
Bloom, Palo Alto City Hall
Misfit Toy Factory, Root Division, San Francisco
2010
50/50 Show: 50 Works in 50 Days, Sanchez Art Center, Pacifica
A Space of One’s Own, Palo Alto City Hall
2009
Permutations from Nature’s Perimeter: Radius 2009, Palo Alto Art Center, Palo Alto
Monotype Marathon, ICA, San Jose
Cubberley Artists, Palo Alto City Hall
2008
Monster Drawing Rally, Southern Exposure, San Francisco
From the Press, Pacific Art League, Palo Alto
Selected Prints, Pacific Art League, Palo Alto
SVOS Expo, San Jose
Monotype Marathon, ICA, San Jose
California History Walk, Oakland Art Gallery, Oakland
2005
The Diorama Show, Mission 17 Gallery, San Francisco
Second Hand Rose, 12 Years of Woodfire History, Catharine Hiersoux Gallery, Berkeley
2004
Go West!, Richmond Art Center, Richmond, California
Elevation, Mission 17 Gallery, San Francisco