Amy Ayanda Lester (b.1992) is an artist and musician based in Cape Town, South Africa. Amy holds an Honours degree in Painting from The Michaelis School of Fine Art at The University of Cape Town. Throughout her career, Amy has exhibited her work independently and has been a notable participant in numerous group exhibitions. She finds inspiration in the local landscape, particularly in the flora, colours and people. Her art, ranging from paintings to prints, frequently features proteas, fynbos, and the iconic mountain silhouette, drawing from her family’s experience of connection to the land, and the grief of being forcibly removed from their flower farm due to Apartheid forced removals. Her art engages themes of memory and loss that find contradiction with the striking natural beauty of the land, and this contradiction reverberates in her vibrant abstract pieces. Her style is loose, and wondering, largely guided by an ‘instance’ – specifically in relation to how she uses colour. The artist has reflected on how her use of colour is dedicated to a feeling; a moment wherein a colour inspires her in its immediate, abstract and playful essence. 

In March of 2024, Amy was invited to the David Krut Workshop (DKW) to collaborate with printmaker Roxy Kaczmarek. She has also worked on a series of vessels in collaboration with Natasha Human as well as nine original works on canvas for her new body of work ahead of her solo presentation at the Latitudes Art Fair (May 2024).