Colleen Joy's paintings are studies of light, alive with subtle rhythmic luminosity. They are distinguished by uncommon compositional harmony and understated expressiveness. Her quietly expressive abstractions combine various techniques and are intuitive responses to the unpredictable nature of color, culminating in work with a sophisticated sense of structure. The paintings, inherently process driven, embrace the tension between intent and outcome. Joy almost always works in series, and most often with layering and color. It is not until well-into a series that the idea or unifying principle behind the work becomes clear to her.
Born in New Jersey, Joy is a Philadelphia-based artist and art educator. She studied fine arts at Ramapo College of New Jersey's School of Contemporary Art where she studied with several established artists. She went on to study painting at the University of New Mexico's Graduate School of Painting. Based in Albuquerque, she traversed the American Southwest, internalizing cross-cultural experiences, geography, sky, and light, the building blocks for her work for the coming decades. Returning to the Northeast, Joy joined the Fine Art Faculty at Springside Chestnut Hill Academy, where she has taught for more than two decades.
Born in New Jersey, Joy is a Philadelphia-based artist and art educator. She studied fine arts at Ramapo College of New Jersey's School of Contemporary Art where she studied with several established artists. She went on to study painting at the University of New Mexico's Graduate School of Painting. Based in Albuquerque, she traversed the American Southwest, internalizing cross-cultural experiences, geography, sky, and light, the building blocks for her work for the coming decades. Returning to the Northeast, Joy joined the Fine Art Faculty at Springside Chestnut Hill Academy, where she has taught for more than two decades.
