Today’s Studio Sunday features the New York studio of Ruby Onyinyechi Amanze! Amanze is an artist who works primarily with drawing, ink and print techniques on paper.

The studio pictured here is in an old FBI evidence storage warehouse in downtown Manhattan, which was created as a workspace for a New York arts program that Amanze was taking part in. The artist was also recently enrolled in the Fountainhead Residency in Miami, and would have had a different studio space in Florida.

It isn’t too often that we get to look at shared studio spaces in these features. This one is interesting because it seems so spacious compared to the apartment lofts that you might think of when picturing shared studio space. I like the way that Amanze has her workspace separated by a lace curtain – nice to have some privacy, but still be aware of your neighbours working around you. With a table facing outward and one facing the wall, it looks as though the artist can choose – either to watch fellow artists for inspiration, or to create her own private space. There doesn’t seem to be much natural light in this studio space, either – an interesting choice, but perhaps one that more easily mimics a basement gallery space.

As of this writing, the artist has been focusing on a series entitled Aliens, Hybrids and Ghosts. The works are greatly varied in size. Many of them feature photo transfers that have been manipulated on paper through the use of paints and drawing media. The result are images of fantastical creatures and animal heads on human bodies that exist in expanses of negative space, following their own mysterious narratives. 

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