About

I began making art as a child, learning from my uncle in my hometown of Portland, Oregon. As I grew older, I ventured into felt-pen drawings on books and matte board. Then, in 1981, I was seriously injured in a fatal car accident. Recovering from a traumatic brain injury, I sought relief in drawing and writing in books. Art quickly became my life.

 

In 1987 I won a full scholarship to attend senior classes at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, but the demands of life as a single parent saw this fall by the wayside. I persevered on my own, gaining recognition instead as a self-taught artist. I started showing at Jamison/Thomas Gallery in Portland in 1995, and became known as an Outsider artist. In 1998 my art was featured as the cover story in Raw Vision Magazine, and I was soon represented by numerous galleries. 

 

By 2006 I was curating traveling exhibitions, and I also began to show internationally, with shows in Australia, France, and Canada. My art also appeared on clothing by the fashion house Comme des Garçons in 2018, and has been featured in several books. I also regularly show at the Outsider Art Fair in New York. Continuing to pursue my love of supporting other artists, in 2019 I curated a three-floor exhibition at Shoreline City Hall in WA. 

 

I continue to work as an artist, collaborator with Della Wells and curator in the United States and abroad, chasing my ever-expanding muse from Tacoma, WA.

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- Anne Marie Grgich