Andrea Brewster: Cross Pollination

Andrea Brewster’s work explores the intersection of nature, art, and technology, focusing on botanical forms to examine themes of beauty, transience, and transformation. Inspired by still life painting, she references the fleeting nature of flowers—vibrant and full of life, yet inevitably fading. This delicate balance between permanence and impermanence invites viewers to reflect on both the fragility and resilience of life.
Brewster’s current work utilizes the technique of commercial Jacquard weaving, a revolutionary 19th-century invention that utilized punched cards to weave intricate patterns. This innovation both foreshadowed and laid the foundation for modern computing. By blending Jacquard weaving with artificial intelligence (AI) and digital tools, she explores how traditional methods and new technology can work together.

For Brewster, the cross-pollination of ideas across disciplines — digital and analog, the natural world , and the art studio — fosters a dynamic process, resulting in work enriched by multiple layers of meaning that encourage reflection. Her work serves as a reminder that the future of flora, and indeed all life on Earth, may ultimately depend on our ability to imagine, innovate, and collaborate.

Bio:
Andrea Brewster is a multidisciplinary artist who investigates the intersection of nature, fiber art, and technology through intricate forms and layered textures. Brewster earned a B.A. in Sculpture from Pomona College and an M.F.A. in New Genres from the San Francisco Art Institute. A 1993 National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) grant recipient, she has exhibited widely in the San Francisco Bay Area, with solo shows at Mercury 20, The Lab, and Southern Exposure, as well as group exhibitions at Chandra Cerrito Contemporary, The Oakland Museum, and the Peninsula Museum. Her work has been featured in fiber art exhibitions in Ireland and the U.S. She participated in the Djerassi Resident Artist Program, and presented at the Doily Free Zone Contemporary Lace Symposium. In 2025, her AI work appeared at Load Gallery, Barcelona, and in the book “Neo Botanica.” She has been a member of Mercury 20 Gallery since 2020.

Gallery Hours: Friday and Saturday, 12 – 5 pm (and by appointment)
Artists’ Reception: Saturday, April 26, 3 – 5 pm
Artists’ Talk: Saturday, May 17, 3 -5 pm
Oakland Art Murmur / First Friday: May 2, 5 – 9 pm

Image: Andrea Brewster, “Cross Pollination-Iris 1,” Detail, 2025, Jacquard Weaving, 14″ x 18″, Photo courtesy of the artist