Amber McElreath 

Amber McElreath is an Akron-based assemblage and collage artist who uses found objects in her work to tell autobiographical stories in a surrealistic style. Most of the work is very small which is meant to convey intimacy and vulnerability. Her two inspirations are Frida Kahlo and Joseph Cornell. 

Amber was born in Landstuhl, Germany and raised in East Liverpool, OH. She got her BFA in Fine and Professional Arts from Kent State University and graduated with her MA in Art Therapy and Counseling from Ursuline College. She worked as an artist assistant to Brooklyn-based artists, James Seward and Erin Racheal Hudak. She has shown her artwork in the Cleveland and Akron areas. Her two-person exhibition with Karen Koch, Delivering Stores was in 2017 at the Box Gallery in Summit Artspace. She has participated in the annual members show at the Artist Archives of the Western Reserve and in a show called the Infinite Mix the YARDS Projects, in Cleveland. Her new solo show will be at the Sally Otto Gallery at the University of Mount Union in August/September 2024. Her work is in private collections in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, New York, Georgia, Washington, and Maryland.

Amber is a Board-Certified Art Therapist and the Intern Coordinator at the Art Therapy Studio. She belongs to the Artist Archives of the Western Reserve, Artists of Rubber City, and Akron Soul Train. She is represented by Gallery 202 at 78th Street Studios in Cleveland.

Her assemblages are autobiographical in content, and often surrealistic. Amber trys to convey the emotions surrounding events. She creates thru the lens of her career as an art therapist.

Once objects are paired together, a narrative emerges. She starts having a “dialogue” with her artwork. Even though dialoguing sounds like she is having a conversation with inanimate objects, this is a process where She’s asking herself questions and giving myself answers. By externalizing the conversation, it helps the meaning become more accessible to her. This helps unearth her subconscious feelings so she can move forward with a clear intent. Amber uses basic theories from art therapy concerning symbolism and color. I consider how they represent or relate to specific emotions. While the specifics of her life events might be mired in symbolism within her work, there are universal emotions present in which the viewer can relate. 

Because Amber’s process and feelings filter thru her subconscious, she often ends up with a surrealistic outcome. By disregarding the original purpose of an item, changing the scale of certain parts within the work, or by placing together items that juxtapose one another, the appearance of the piece is usually dream-like. My work presents a different view of the human experience. Sometimes the viewer can see parts of her story within the work and sometimes their own life experiences inform their interpretation. Amber’s goal is to tell her story in her own way, process her emotions, and have the viewer connect with her work on an emotional level.