Joss
Click images to enlarge Joss is an ongoing series of gouache paintings on paper. Currently there are 60 paintings in the series (22" x 22" and 30" x 31"). While gouache is a departure from the pigmented wax I normally paint with, the imagery is of a piece with my oeuvre: brilliant color, strong geometry, and the interplay of transparent, translucent and opaque elements. Formally, as with all my work, the grid is both inspiration and manifestation. With Joss I'm interested in the ways hues interact when nearly gossamer vertical swipes of color pass over a ground of more solid horizontal bands. I have used the paint in a more transparent way than gouache is normally used because even when diluted, it has more substance than watercolor, and I wanted the complementary quality of pigment that is both transparent and substantial — surprise, the same qualities I find in wax. The drips and irregularities are deliberate, providing a break in the tension of the grid. Joss is the name of a Chinese domestic god. The word is a Portuguese derivation of deus (Latin for "god", pronounced in Portuguese something like jeuss). I chose the name because I like the sound; moreover I like that the word for divinity, like the concept of divinity itself, transcends cultures and religions and yet shares similar roots. You can see more of Joss at: |
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joanne@joannemattera.com