Amy Cutler’s meticulously rendered paintings on paper conjure unusual worlds predominantly inhabited by women. The women who populate Cutler’s paintings are often similarly dressed and engaged in enigmatic activities such as mending tigers or awkwardly carrying mysterious loads through semi-bucolic landscapes. Though they seem to invoke fantasy worlds, Cutler’s compositions are grounded in the exploration of interior states and are inspired by the complex web of emotions generated by real-life situations. Cutler’s compositions are often concentrated against a stark white background, which imbues them with a sense of timelessness and indeterminacy of place. This ambiguity is heightened by Cutler’s embrace of a variety of visual references including Indian miniature paintings, US Army manuals and the costumes and textiles of diverse cultures and time periods, which she renders with great detail and specificity. For Cutler, the non-communicative expressions worn by her characters are indicative of their inward looking nature. Her women are engaged in self-examination and self-reflection of which the entire composition becomes a metaphor.