Challenging painting conventions, Anya Pesce experiments with alternative materials, culminating in polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA, or acrylic).
Sydney-Based Abstract Sculptor
Born in Australia, Anya Pesce is a Sydney-based practitioner whose 20-year career has evolved from abstract painting into hybrid painting-sculpture forms. Drawing on shaped canvases, monochrome palettes, and the 1960s USA Finish Fetish movement’s “LA Look” with its pristine surfaces and industrial materials, Anya’s work fuses conceptual painting with tangible, handcrafted 3D structures.
Challenging painting conventions, Anya experiments with alternative materials, culminating in polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA, or acrylic). This shift from 2D to 3D arose from traditional mediums’ limitations, yielding inimitable finishes that reference historical fabrication techniques.
The process is spontaneous: PMMA sheets are heated in a furnace, then hand-molded into free-form shapes within a brief pliable window, eschewing prototypes for direct improvisation.
Emphasizing surface as “external skin,” Anya manipulates texture, color, and light to evoke visceral tactility and sensory phenomena—transforming mundane materials into hyper-real experiences that stimulate touch and perception. Viewers engage bodily, as forms arouse sensation through visual and haptic interplay.
Versatile installations—wall-mounted, suspended, plinth-based, or floor-placed—adapt to spatial contexts, heightening viewer impact.