About Ava Roth
Ava Roth is a Toronto-based mixed media artist, working primarily with beeswax. A personal connection with the environment is at the heart of her work, which is first and foremost a celebration of the natural world.
Roth is fundamentally guided and inspired by the organic and local matter she relies on, such as Canadian beeswax, foraged wood, birch bark, foliage, horsehair and pine needles.
Her current collection of work is an inter-species collaboration with thousands of local honey bees. The project is in it’s sixth year, and is deeply informed by Roth’s knowledge and care of bees and of the natural world.
The work begins by with the transformation of locally foraged and gathered materials into encaustic-based collages and composite objects. These are then suspended in Langstroth hives, where thousands of honey bees embed Roth’s work in comb. The pieces themselves are made of thousands of tiny stitches, brush strokes, weavings or knots, paying homage to the complexity of honeycomb, and attempting to mirror the bee’s delicate and dazzling work in playful harmony.
Like all of Roth’s work, the interspecies project explores the boundaries of where humans collide with the natural environment, and imagines a more beautiful outcome of our encounter.
Please Note: Each piece is made with non-toxic materials inside traditional Langstroth hives located throughout Southern Ontario. Master Beekeeper Mylee Nordin is an indispensable partner in this project, helping with both strategy and implementation. The care and well being of the bees we work with is our top priority.
Roth is represented by Wallspace Gallery, in Ottawa. In addition to exhibiting in both solo and group shows, Roth’s work has been featured in a multitude of on-line and print magazines and her pieces have been acquired by private collectors throughout Canada as well as internationally.
