ANNA TORK, A NEW YORK-BASED ABSTRACT ARTIST

Brooklyn-based artist Anna Tork lives in Williamsburg, a neighborhood known for its polished skyline and gritty street art. Her daily walks along the water draw in this beautiful contrast of the permanent sculpture of building lines, the whimsical curvature of graffiti, and the nature in between.     

Tork discovered modern art as an adult with its freedom to choose how to define structure in one’s work. Physical places and seasonality are referenced through compositions of shapes, lines, and mists. In prior works, these landscapes ranged from 49 Palms Oasis Trail in Joshua Tree to Lakeside in Italy’s Lake Como. In her newest collection, Get the Balance Right, Tork explores more abstract concepts like harmony in daily life.

Key to the artist’s practice is taking a few months in between series to explore new techniques and concepts — a time for the messy and imperfect. This experimentation leads to sketching, sketching leads to repetition, and repetition creates the space for inner flow:

“I sketch all the time in my daily life. Playing a core set of elements and colors until I’ve caught that wonderful sense of balance in the piece.”

Tork’s abstract art features a blend of acrylic, pastels and spray paint on cotton canvas. Charcoal, graphite, and colored pencils also feature from time to time. Working outdoors and indoors allows her to take in her surroundings and interact with people. On the surface, it’s about New York City, street art, and sculpture. But it’s also about intentionality and balance.