'A collection:2006-2012' will be opening at the Jo Felk Gallery, March 28th, 7:30pm. This exhibition will display a selection of past works from the 'Abundant', 'Mindmap' and 'Year of the Home' series, with the new addition of the first release of 3 LIMITED EDITION prints. These will be tiered pricing, so best to get in on the first release if you are interested!
Joanna is a local artist who has exhibited in several solo and group shows including charity events in the region. Her works can be found in private collections across Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the UK and has appeared in galleries in Newcastle, Sydney, Port Macquarie and even at Parliament House in Canberra.
The Abundant series is a celebration of faith and significant places and presents a visual narrative for the metaphor ‘to dwell in high places’. The artist explores the concept of lifes ‘high points’ and ‘mountaintop experiences’ and our desire to stay in that space. The works in this series present a decidedly optimistic view of the world and could be described as almost sickeningly happy. Though the works are clearly joyful and playful, they are not without serious statement. Each piece appeals to us and urges us to live at a higher level, acknowledging and mximising moments of enlightenment and elation. Simple line work and exuberant colour typify these works that Joanna describes as expressionistic landscapes. The work is characterised by the repetition of cell-like shapes, scattered over the images like communities of people, clumps of trees, and beds of flowers, resulting in a highly patterned aesthetic.
The Abundant series is a celebration of faith and significant places and presents a visual narrative for the metaphor ‘to dwell in high places’. The artist explores the concept of lifes ‘high points’ and ‘mountaintop experiences’ and our desire to stay in that space. The works in this series present a decidedly optimistic view of the world and could be described as almost sickeningly happy. Though the works are clearly joyful and playful, they are not without serious statement. Each piece appeals to us and urges us to live at a higher level, acknowledging and mximising moments of enlightenment and elation. Simple line work and exuberant colour typify these works that Joanna describes as expressionistic landscapes. The work is characterised by the repetition of cell-like shapes, scattered over the images like communities of people, clumps of trees, and beds of flowers, resulting in a highly patterned aesthetic.
The mindmap series includes paintings and works on paper that Joanna describes as a ‘transcendental view’- presenting the aerial and microscopic view simultaneously. She spent much time studying rockpools, the movement of water through them and the life forms in them around Caves Beach, Bar Beach and Newcastle Beach and compares the movement of rockpools and the lines of water flow to the process of mindmapping.
The Year of the Home series is much more illustrative than her other work and includes a collection of oil pastel and graphite miniatures. It is inspired by the artists convictions about homelife and family. The pieces incorporate what the artist calls ‘home iconography’ and explores ways of ‘doing life’- from the insanity of chasing toddlers to the joy and peace found in faith. The village views are crowded and chaotic yet retain a certain simplicity mixing symbols of various lifestyles- from caravans to igloos- with the things of everyday life- teacups and telephones, lawnmowers and cutlery. Each work presents the simultaneous complexity and simplicity of family life and the truth that, perhaps, we all need to return to the un-ornamented yet essential ‘stuff’ that is home.
Joanna's 'GOOD ART: ART FOR GOOD' cards will also be available, with all profits helping to provide life changing surgery for women in Nepal suffering uterine prolapse.
- The prints are a limited edition of 100. Prices increase based on a tiered pricing system as the edition sells out. The release of the first 20 of this edition will be at a set price per 11x14 inch print, but the price will rise after each release is sold and continue to rise as the edition nears it’s end (ie. prints 21-69, prints 70-90, and prints 91-100). Larger prints are also available.
- A portion of sales of original works will be donated to the ADRA Australia ‘East Africa Drought Fund’.
