Artist: Amos, Emma

“I like being called an imagist, but don’t wince (too much) when some see my work as merely figuration without noticing its conceptual commentaries on color and black and white.” A printmaker, painter and textile artist, Amos taught for many years at Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University, and was department chair in 2005–2007. During her lifetime Amos produced a dynamic collection of works that explore the politics of culture and issues of racism, sexism, and ethnocentrism. She was also a member of collectives, such as the Heresies and the Guerilla Girls, where she made contributions in Black feminist art and art activism. In 2016, Amos received the Georgia Museum of Art’s Larry D. and Brenda A. Thompson award and was honored by the Studio Museum in Harlem as an Icon and Trailblazer, along with Faith Ringgold and Lorraine O’Grady.