About Ava Roth
I am a Toronto-based mixed media artist, working primarily with beeswax. A personal connection with the environment is at the heart of my work, which is first and foremost a celebration of the natural world.
I am fundamentally guided and inspired by the organic and local materials I rely on, such as Canadian beeswax, foraged wood, birch bark, foliage, horsehair and pine needles.
For the past six years I have been exploring an inter-species collaboration with the honey bees of Southern Ontario. The urge to collaborate with bees originated with my love of beeswax as an encaustic painter. Becoming a beekeeper, learning about Colony Collapse Disorder and having a direct relationship with local bees has had a profound impact on my artistic practice.
My work begins by gathering organic materials, which are brought to my studio and transformed into encaustic-based collages. These are then suspended in custom-made Langstroth hive frames and placed inside hives where thousands of honey bees embed my work in comb. The collages themselves are typically made of beeswax and thousands of tiny stitches, brush strokes, weavings or knots, paying homage to the dazzling complexity and intricacy of honeycomb and mirroring their creations in playful harmony.
Like all of my work, this project explores the boundaries of where humans collide with the natural environment, and imagines a more beautiful outcome of our encounter.
I am represented by Wallspace Gallery, in Ottawa. In addition to exhibiting in both solo and group shows, my work has been featured in a multitude of on-line and print magazines and my pieces have been acquired by private collectors throughout Canada as well as internationally.
