Anne-Marie Cosgrove

Lives and works in Lunenburg

Artist statement

Statement: My first experimental digital drawing series, Afternoon in a Candy Store, began in 2020. The title was humorous and subversive, aiming to draw the viewer’s attention to the seemingly endless possibilities of working with digital media. In 2022, CMS Art Projects in Toronto published this series in print on Artsy in collaboration with Smokestack Studios in Hamilton, ON. More recently, in the Sanctuary series, I explored possibilities of digital mark-making more thoroughly, limiting my choice of digital brushes to two or three and embracing a more minimalist approach while examining specific visual forms and patterns. The latest series of iPad drawings has developed over the past two years. The drawings have transformed from a minimalist, figurative style that combines both organic and geometric shapes. Hand-drawing directly on the iPad glass produces freeform lines that form shapes through accumulated marks and repetitive mark-making. Loosely resembling portraits or busts, these “figures” seem to be in states of falling apart or being loosely assembled. The works evoke references to archaic forms of art and found language. The original working title, All Smiles, references Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy. I place the pieces within a visual dialogue that engages with personal narrative, feminism, and inclusivity. These works explore themes of self-identity, belonging, and unconventional beauty. The works acknowledge and accept gravity, as seen in titles like...

Artwork