“Despite the risk and expense, I’m opening my own gallery out of a desire to share my diverse body of work and spiritual message with the public and to exhibit the work of other artists with a similar message. The gallery system is about 150 years old and works for some artists but not all. Prior to the Impressionists, artists presented their own work in salons. I want to give the viewing public access to a different contemporary art experience, one that is intimate with the art and the artists who make the work. The issues I had with my first space on Wilshire and the resultant setback of having to find a new space served to solidify my commitment to my unique path as artist/gallerist.” – Jill Joy
Jill Joy continues her exploration into spiritual healing
and the evolution of consciousness with her solo exhibition “Emotion.” This
series of large, impasto oil paintings addresses the temporal, personal, human
struggle that includes loss, pain, joy, change, frustration, grief and
aspiration. Joy explained that the work addresses the power of emotions to
transform us when we open to them versus repressing them. “Emotion” is just one
of a three part series…”Consciousness” and “Illumination” will follow featuring
bold new bodies of work by the artist.
Joy’s inspiration
for the painting, Summoning the Heart of Love (see image below)
was first activated by the book/film The Secret. Joy said she has always believed that our thoughts held
great power…but she also believes that most of our thoughts are subconscious,
beyond our awareness, and so we are often surprised when we get what comes to
us. She had a trying moment with her on again off again boyfriend (who will
always hold a special place for her in her heart). “It was a perfect sort of
day at the beach, as it often was between us, but for the tension of
unfulfilled love and attraction, which made it less than perfect. That day
ended up sourcing an under painting.” She continued, “It seemed unfinished: raw
somehow and one dimensional, or maybe idealized and thus untruthful. So I let
it sit. After I saw the Life of Pi a few months later, I finished it the next day inspired
by the scene when Pi, shipwrecked, just about gives up in the middle of the
ocean, stranded for weeks, and about to be destroyed in a storm. He completely
surrenders, embraces chaos, love, death and God. I realized the love I was
looking for was not love with a small ‘l’ but Love with a capital ‘L.’
Unconditional. All encompassing. Uncontrollable. This is what I finally decided
to do in the painting, and in life.”
Jill Joy was raised in Arizona,
Molokai, Hawaii and Massachusetts under trying financial and emotional
circumstances. The transcendence of these circumstances has fed her spiritual
and artistic journey. She is self-taught with an intuitive process. She is
drawn to spiritual art and chooses to create consciously. She currently works
out of her gallery (Jill Joy Gallery) located at on Museum Row.
Don’t miss the opening reception for
“Emotion” at the Jill Joy Gallery (456 La Brea Blvd., LA, 90036), on
Saturday, October 8th from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. The exhibition
will remain on view through October 29th, 2016. http://www.jilljoy.com/
