Joanne Freeman
“I create irregular hand drawn shapes that lay flat and abut at the edges. The curves and irregularities of the edges accentuate the space between, reading both as line and structure. Shapes and colors are rendered intuitively, with one choice informing the next, always mindful of the interplay of negative and positive space.”"
Abstract painter Joanne Freeman's oil paintings on linen and gouaches on handmade paper are grounded in architecture, design, popular culture and art history. Reductive compositions and pure color recall the low-tech graphics of mid-century media and allude to the color field painters of the same period. The simplicity of Freeman's colors and shapes demonstrate an intuitive understanding of the two-dimensional nature of painting and a keen awareness of the interplay of negative and positive space. Freeman has described her approach as starting with a stroke that determines the next one, working on multiple paintings simultaneously. She says color is the wildcard: "as much as you think you know it, it has a mind of its own, and when you lay it down it can lead you to unexpected places.
Joanne Freeman received a BS in Fine Arts from the University of Wisconsin and a MA in Studio Art from New York University. She serves as the Vice President of American Abstract Artists, founded in 1936 and based in New York City. She is the 2024 recipient of the NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship in Painting, and the 2021 recipient of the Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant. She has been a visiting artist at New York University, The New School for Social Research, The New York Studio School, Massachusetts College of Art, Chautauqua School of Art, The Marie Sharpe Foundation and the Rome Art Program. Freeman lives and works in New York City. Joanne Freeman is represented by Kathryn Markel Fine Arts with 2 locations in New York City. She lives and works in New York City.