Joy Kloman is an accomplished artist and educator based in Hood River, Oregon. She earned her MFA from the University of Florida and her BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute. Previously a tenured associate professor at the University of Mississippi, she supervised graduate and undergraduate painting programs and taught drawing in London. Joy’s work, inspired by her international residencies and experiences, has been featured in nationally juried exhibitions and is included in public and private collections worldwide. She currently creates and teaches at Joy’s Art Studio.

Urban Canvas of Portland

By referencing vintage photographs, bittersweet nostalgic themes are explored in my art. TheThe sourced photos are black and white, suggesting a history of days that have passed. In myfigurative paintings, I have added color, often fluorescent colors, creating tension between pastand present. Passage of time is examined in these “freeze-frame” moments.A sense of temporality is achieved through the layering of paint, creating pentimento. Mypaintings are typically three to four feet high—approximately the size of a child, forming aperception that one could have occupied such a space once. My work addresses and queriesbrief, seemingly heartening moments in time—delving into what appear to be photo-worthyjoys, rites of passage, and simple contentment, which cumulatively represent an epoch.My paintings are a nod to the poetry of Walt Whitman, representative of our temporary yetinfinite time on earth. “What is the Grass?” and “Beautiful Uncut Hair of Graves” includepatterns of foliage enveloping the figures, like peering behind grandmother’s peeling wallpaper,revealing a record of one who was once there. I am interested in shared human experiences andrelationships to their surroundings. Bicycles, birthdays, religious ceremonies, graduations, andweddings are all documented again and again. My multi-generational works of art are acollective journey through life.

Joy Kloman

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