Mari Andrews is known for delicate, intuitive sculptures constructed from a wide array of media and found objects. Her “three-dimensional drawings” combine collected natural objects like seeds, leaves, moss and stones with linear man made materials, such as metal wire and gampi paper. Many of the materials are found on the artist’s frequent nature walks around the San Francisco Bay Area and the Sierras. Newer investigations in her studio practice include earth elements as well as tools or instruments of measuring time, distance and direction.
Andrews’ works are often small-scale and intimate worlds onto themselves, intriguing as delightful, solo figments, or in conversation with other works. As with all of Andrews’ work, elements are simple and pared down to what is essential, but Andrews masterful use oif material and space makes it clear that these essential elements have much to say. With such simplicity, the viewer is able to appreciate not only the sculptural details, such as the complementary nature of contrasting materials, but also the beauty and wonder offered by nature and our own intuition.
She earned her BFA from the University of Dayton, Ohio, where she studied art and sociology. Traveling west, she completed her MFA at Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles. She has been awarded an NEA Fellowship and several residencies including Djerassi Resident Artist Program in Woodside CA, the Cold Press north of London, the Lucid Art Foundation, and most recently the James Castle House Residency. Her work can be found in the collections of the de Young Museum of Art, San Jose Museum of Art, the de Saisset Museum in Santa Clara, CA, and the Eli Broad Foundation, and in private and corporate collections in the US and abroad. Andrews has exhibited extensively throughout California and the US, including the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, The Bolinas Museum, The Los Gatos Museum, the De Saisset Museum, The Monterey Museum of Art, Southern Exposure in San Francisco, and the Tucson Museum of Art and the Sun Valley Museum of Art. Internationally, she has exhibited in Japan, Israel, and England. Andrews lives and works in the Bay Area.