Joanne Aono's body of work includes oil paintings and drawings. She has exhibited in juried and invitational gallery and museum shows and has received several grants and fellowships. For a complete curriculum vitae, please
contact her.
Each drawing and painting series uses text and imagery to explore seeing and interpretation, memory and knowledge, reading and retention. While the text is difficult to read, it provides moments of information and a pathway to understanding the subject. Each series begins with a project concept, inspired by a personal experience fueled by further research. They are conceived of as complete bodies of work to be viewed as a whole.
The subject matter consists of text and image, positive and negative space, texture and atmosphere. The method of drawing and painting is often intense and meditative in concentrated labor. Using a limited palette of two groupings of color, they are applied much like the manipulation of Japanese hashi (chopsticks). Each works in cooperation and opposition to the other to form the essence of the piece.