Amanda Bush, Leaf River, View from the West Bank

This painting was inspired by the Leaf River in Laurel, Mississippi, where Bush was born and raised. The horizontal ribbons that seem to rush across the top of this painting suggest the watery atmosphere of the luminous river. A gestural mass of yellow seems to move upward from the bottom of the canvas to the top, suggesting the massive form of a mountain; it feels massive, light, and effervescent at the same time. Zones of color and overlapping transparent layers create spatial ambiguities.

Bush came to Philadelphia to attend the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, where she received her MFA.