Joanne Freeman

(b 1954United States. Lives and works in New York)

Pairing flat planes of colour with bold, geometric forms, Freeman’s gouache compositions are studies in simplicity. Her pared-down visual language highlights the interplay of positive and negative space; between painted shapes and their paper-white inverse. The edge of each form, while sharply defined, remains irregular – the artist treading a fine line between precision and intuition.

“My works on paper incorporate elements found in architecture, design, popular culture, and art history,” says Freeman. “The reductive compositions and pure flat colour mimic the low-tech graphics utilized in mid-century media, while also alluding to the colour field painters of the same period…The process acknowledges and celebrates the aesthetic qualities associated with early screen-printing techniques as well as cubism and collage.”

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