Joan Savoy

Statement

Brice Marden once said that he didn't know what his imagery was exactly, but that it reminded him of something familiar. We artists
are lucky when we can find what's truly familiar to us. 

My work probes the sensual, magical and surreal in experienced
nature and that which resides behind the veil. A marked use of color and texture combined with anthropormorphized organic shapes
helps bring to life what is for me, a visual representation of the seen unseen. Movement, relationships, beauty and joy reside there.  

I can feel color. If I see a box of crayons or a red and green color combination, say in a piece of fabric, I get viscerally excited. I often
see color compositions in my third eye, mostly when meditating or falling asleep.  If I ask to be shown my next painting, I'm presented subliminally with colors but rarely an actual composition. I may see
cut shapes, like Colorforms, or I'll see a color wash. The dots, circles

or elipses are always there.

When I work, my hand automatically wants to scribble dashes and ovals, so I often start new work that way. I spend a lot of time getting the marks, textures and colors just right. I obviuosly enjoy contrast which is why I use so much black. My color combinations can be

well, colorful, or monochromatic. I like a matte texture in paint
so I mix my own and use natural pigments, milk and clay to combat
the plasticity of the acrylic. I often design compositions so they
can be visually entered from the left or right. Texture, dots or energy waves serve to tie everything together. 

Lately I've been doing more collage. I like how 3D they are, plus I 

like to use scissors to cut shapes. I just grab different painted papers
or shapes and shuffle them around a background until there's a strong composition. I reckon it's real life Colorforms for adults.

I try not to think when I'm working. When I reach an impasse or if
the work isn't awake yet, I leave it. Sometimes I destroy it and try

again to extract a true essence. I just know when the work is true and

I keep going until it arrives. Bewilderment, fear and frustration are unavoidable as I strive to drag a beautiful, original and magical image into the world while simultaneously removing myself from the
birthing process. It makes for an interesting and fun dance. 

I tend to do what I was told not to do by other artists: avoid using blacks, dark browns, floating objects, arbitrary horizon lines and allusions to sex organs. (Ask Georgia O'Keefe about the sex organs!)

I constantly look at and read about all types of art, not rejecting any genres because I realize they each have something to teach. I also

closely study natural shapes and environments.

I had a life-changing experience in 2022. Bob Thompson, an African-American artist then dead for 56 years, figuratively gave me the hat
he had depicted in several pieces that were part of an unforgettable
show of his at Colby College. Bob's (repeated or inverted) hat shape
has since appeared in my works as integral landscape or sexual elements.

Thompson's fearless vibrancy, along with that of many artists throughout history whom I admire, encourages me to be bold and
helps sustain my practice. I strive always to imbue my art with great
beauty and some sort of magic. I hope it speaks.

Art Biography

Born - New Jersey

Grants/Awards/Residencies 

1992, 1987, 1985 – Selected for residency during Vermont Artists’ Week,           
          The Vermont Studio School, Johnson, Vermont

1991 - Vermont Council on the Arts, Fellowship Awards Finalist
           Montpelier, Vermont

           (One of the old National Endowment for the Arts-backed Individual
           Grants to Artists Awards)

1977 – Nominated for College Honors in Photography, University of Vermont Art 

             Department, Burlington, Vermont
Selected Exhibition Record

I am not able to reproduce a complete copy of my art resume; following is a short list of all that can be

reliably reconstructed.              

01/23   Juried Group Exhibition - Red

              Cambridge Art Association

              Cambridge, Massachusetts

              Juror: Dina Deitsch, Director & Chief Curator, Tufts University Art Gallery

06/22   Members' Open

              Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill

              Truro, Massachusetts

06/21   Members' Open

              Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill

              Truro, Massachusetts

11/17 - 1/18  Members’ Open: Small Works
             Provincetown Art Association and Museum (PAAM)
             Provincetown, Massachusetts

2017   Summer Member’s Show at Cambridge Art Association, “SCAPES”
           CAA University Place Gallery, Cambridge, Massachusetts

2001   Juried Group Exhibition – 21^st Annual Faber Birren National Color Award Show
              Stamford Art Association Townhouse Gallery, Stamford, Connecticut

1990   Solo Exhibition - Saint Michael’s College Art Gallery

            Saint Michael’s College, Colchester, Vermont

1989   Solo Exhibition - Francis Colburn Gallery

            University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont

1981    Juried Group Exhibition - The Monumental Show

            Gowanus Memorial Art Yard, Brooklyn, New York

            (curated by Frank Shifreen, Michael Keene and George Moore)
 

1980? - About a year or so before the Gowanus Show in 1981 I had a Solo
             Exhibition at the Salon de Refuses at the Westbeth Artists Space in
             New York City, curated by Michael Keene. I can no longer identify the
              exact date.

Art-Related Work Experience

1986 to 1991 - Adjunct Professor of Art, Saint Michael’s College, Colchester,
Vermont; Taught painting, 2D design, and some art history

Selected Education 

2014   State of Massachusetts Reading Specialist Licensure,

            Collaborative for Educational Services/Fitchburg State, Fitchburg,           
            Massachusetts

2006   Wilson Reading System Teacher Training, 

             Wilson Reading Academy, Oxford, Massachusetts

2006   Masters of Education, Special Education/Moderate Disabilities (5-12),          
             Cambridge College, Cambridge, Massachusetts 

1977    BA, Double Major in English and Studio Art with a History minor,

             The University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont, 1976-1977

1973-1975 

            College studies with a concentration in Studio Art and History,

            Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, New York