About
Statement
“From ultra-marine, beyond the sea, to ultra-sky, the horizon divides opacity from transparency.” -Paul Virilio, Open Sky
Landscapes, primarily horizon dominated landscapes, have been a consistent interest for me in painting. When you grow up in a region next to a vast geologic presence like the Pacific Ocean, the space of the horizon is there as a constant. It’s not so much sentimental as it is reliable. It is a relationship of the changing time, light & space. Its presence is fundamentally orienting, pinpointing one’s position. It is an infusion on the memory that becomes a possession to permanently carry.
My paintings address a sensibility of the horizon and the volumes of open spaces. They are constructions based on theories of landscape painting scrubbed clean of the subjects usually associated with landscape. Some are distilled to the horizontal and vertical while others are formed with the assembly of line in formal landscape constructs.
These landscape paintings, drawings and constructions have been a focus of mine for the past 15 years. They reflect my personal desire to be in the landscape- out in the open- more so than a representation of place. I’ve been carving out these images of near and far, of atmosphere and veiled layers with a consistent group of media: oil, enamel or gesso on wood, watercolor on paper, or newspaper fonts on panel - all to build a pared down emblem of space. I work through these depictions cyclically, going from one media to the next, each informing the other. My materials command the next configuration and my sensibilities unearth the atmosphere or mood of the space.
“Open the window and let in some sky… open the curtain and let in the atmosphere- oh yeah!”
-Modest Mouse
Bio
Joni Marie Theodorsen is an artist who was born in the East Bay, but considers the whole West Coast her home.
She received BA’s in Art and Art history from the University of California, Santa Cruz, completing her MFA at the University of Washington in Seattle as well as a stint in Rome. She has been painting for over 20 years, showing around the U.S. and the Bay Area in group and solo shows receiving accolades and awards along the way. She is currently living in Oakland, CA.
Recently, Joni has been keeping a studio in Hayward, CA while taking care of her father, a stray dog, a feral kitten and a small urban wildlife sanctuary. Seasonal residents include nesting bluebirds, hundreds of monarch butterflies and other small visitors.
Joni now shows at the GearBox Gallery
