Past Exhibition

Art on Demand 4.1

Artist Joy Kinna and Curated by Kendra Anderson
Jan 18, 2018
to
Mar 11, 2018
EXHIBITION

Abstract Expressionism was a vanguard movement in New York in the 1940s and 1950s. Characterized by large-scale paintings and the muscular, physical application of paint, the movement is largely associated with male painters. Despite this, many female contemporaries painted in this style, demonstrating that its only real precondition was a passion to paint.

Like the original Abstract Expressionists, Joy Kinna does not seek to reproduce the world around her, choosing instead to make meaning in her artwork through paint alone. Like the pioneers of the movement, Kinna believes this style is a both a personal form of release and a means to communicate emotion directly through her medium, remarking “there is something so freeing about it and empowering.”

In Last Night’s Dreams dynamic brushwork on a strong diagonal provides a sense of movement. Coupled with an energetic palette, the vigorous treatment of her medium instantly communicates a sense of joy, vitality, and life. Paintings Blue Series 1 and Blue Series 2 present a very different impression. Cool, monochromatic colors create a quiet, almost melancholy sensibility. In her Rainy State series Kinna incorporates lush gold tones that contrast dramatically with otherwise grey-blue palette. The effect recalls moments of golden sunshine that seep through the rain-soaked vistas of the Pacific Northwest.

These paintings are a momentary reprieve from everyday life, a gratifying pause within which to consider the emotive potential of colour and brushstroke. Though Abstract Expressionism had its heyday nearly a century ago, Joy Kinna continues to connect to its stylistic influence, confirming the lasting appeal of this raw, intense style of painting and its relevance across generations and gender lines.

The Reach Art on Demand 4.1 Monograph

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