Artist, Curator, Innovator
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As a gallery director and curator, she has spearheaded contemporary exhibitions and collections across prominent regional venues and national corporate spaces—including The Gallery at Brewery Park (located in the Crain Communications Building), the Janice Charach Gallery, the Anton Art Center, Amazon’s Detroit office and Crain Communications regional headquarters. Her curatorial philosophy
centers on an elevate-and-connect methodology: championing emerging and established living artists while cultivating accessible entry points for patrons, collectors, and new audiences.
Koss frequently bridges large-scale fine art commissions with community enrichment. Her outreach includes managing hands-on arts programming, juried exhibitions, and charitable initiatives, as well as founding a custom Girl Scout badge program that directly connects young scouts with professional working artists.
Extending her vision into digital infrastructure, Koss is also the founder of Lumenery—a specialized software platform engineered to streamline artist discovery, call-for-entry submissions, and event curation for galleries and cultural institutions.
Whether pioneering sustainable material processes in the studio, curating corporate collections, or building digital tools for creative operations, Koss remains dedicated to empowering living artists and building vibrant, interconnected cultural communities.
Amanda Koss is a Michigan-based visual artist, curator, and gallerist whose practice explores color, texture, physical space, and material innovation to explore immersive visual experiences. Grounded in a deeply intuitive and tactile approach, Koss specializes in two distinct focuses: archival acrylic fine art and sustainable material innovation. Regardless of the approach, her vibrant, multi-layered visual narratives that bridge contemporary fine art with sustainable practices.
Her dual-focused studio work primarily utilizes acrylics alongside repurposed materials—transforming clean food waste into natural pigments and unique textures, and partnering with the Detroit Grand Prix to upcycle event race banners into fine art. Multiple bodies of her work are held in private and corporate collections across the United States, including a 12-piece installation in Chicago and prominent acquisitions in Detroit’s historic Cadillac Building.
At the intersection of studio practice and arts administration, Koss brings a holistic perspective to the contemporary art ecosystem. She balances her personal abstract work with high-impact gallery programming, corporate collection management, and community-driven initiatives.
I am not here to follow trends—I am here to build something timeless. With a blend of creativity, strategy, and heart, I make ideas come to life. Every project I take on is an opportunity to learn, grow, and do something important.
I’ve always believed that art is less about the technical precision of a line and more about how a space makes you feel.
As a little girl, I would draw, tape my creations up on my bedroom walls, and step outside. I’d change into my favorite antique dress-up clothes, turn the doorknob, and re-enter the room, gasping in exaggerated awe at the "exhibits." I was playing gallery. Back then, it felt like a lovely, unattainable childhood fantasy—something meant only for pretend.
That desire to curate and tell stories eventually led me to digital design. In high school, after initially protesting my assignment to the yearbook staff, I unexpectedly fell in love with community building, digital layouts, and capturing the human spirit. I realized I had a knack for documenting the people around me in a way that felt authentic. I went on to earn my degree in Graphic Design and spent years in the corporate design world across Metro Detroit, working with brands like Fathead, American Laser Skincare, and Save On Everything Magazine, alongside independent freelance work.
The Story
(in her words)
When my youngest was born, I stepped away from the corporate space to be home with him. But life shifted rapidly. Right as he reached kindergarten age, the pandemic hit, thrusting me into the role of full-time virtual co-teacher. Around the same time, my mother was diagnosed with cancer. Grief and depression set in, and my hands felt painfully empty. I needed an outlet—a space entirely my own.
I bought a 4'x4' grow tent, set it up in my garage, fully ventilated it, and began experimenting with resin epoxy art. Shortly after, I discovered I was severely allergic to resin. Reluctant at first—and allergic to oil mediums as well—I pivoted to acrylics.
Then came the ultimate test. Just months into building my new creative practice, at age 35, I was diagnosed with a rare neuroendocrine cancer.
Two surgeries later, I was declared cancer-free. Like so many artists who survive a life-threatening moment, everything suddenly clicked. The noise fell away. I found my center, my spirituality, and the true heart of my art practice.
Self-portrait, age 10
With the unwavering support of my husband, my kids, my family, and my friends, I kept pushing. Every single art piece I sold, I reinvested the earnings directly back into the craft—buying a new tube of paint, a sturdier table, and eventually leasing a modest, 400-square-foot third-floor studio at the historic Russell Industrial Center in Detroit.
Simultaneously, I found myself pulled back into storytelling. Opportunities arose to curate, network, and document the vibrant Detroit arts scene. Every bit of knowledge and income I gained went right back into the dream. Just six months later, an extraordinary opportunity presented itself: a relocation to ArtSpace in Dearborn—a 800-square-foot, first-floor studio flooded with a full row of natural sunlight. It was exactly what I had been manifesting (or as my brain likes to call it, Amanda-festing).
Looking back, this journey has swept me up like a whirlwind and given me far more than my childhood self could have ever imagined. I hope that little girl is proud of me.
Today, I am independently creating and curating for collectors and major corporations, developing Lumenery.com—a dedicated platform built to empower and connect artists—working with the Janice Charach Gallery, and helping others step into their creative power.
I started out creating drawings for a bedroom wall. Today, I get to build, document, and celebrate art for a living. I couldn't ask for a fuller life.