Brooklyn Art Project : "Countenance" by Jonna Twigg

"Countenance"
Paintings by Jonna Twigg
January 10-February 21, 2008
Mazi's in Lower East Side

Mid-exhibition Opening
Thursday, January 24, 2008 from 7-9pm
112 Suffolk Street (b. Delancey & Rivington Street)
Metro: F to Delancey and J,M,Z to Essex

Featured Above: "Hollowed", 2005, India ink, enamel, acrylic on canvas, 30" x 80"

Jonna Twigg's paintings are filled with fleeting, tumultuous emotions and indistinct events. She is able to carry out her expression through the use of India Ink. As a curator, I conducted this interview about her aesthetic and her inspirations.

Joyce Manalo (JM): How would you describe your work?

Jonna Twigg (JT): I would describe my work as loose narratives of my life that fluctuate between abstraction and representation. They are both gestural and fluid, while maintaining a certain geometry that I feel describes the way in which one might move through life. At times they can be reminiscent of Japanese brush painting, cartoon animation, African sculpture, or street art.

JM: You've been living in New York, for 5 years now. How do you think your art has changed from the time you were in living in Columbus and now?

JT: I think my work has become more layered and maybe more fluid. As my life and environment changed so did my work. More complexity was inevitable for me.

JM: How did you discover your love for India ink? Why do you gravitate towards that medium more than oils?

JT: I came to India ink as I was looking for a way to express my ideas in a more rapid and immediate way. India ink allows my to paint as I would write or transcribe. With oils my process always feels more deliberate, mainly due to drying time. It takes a lot of the spontaneity out of it, but that could always change.

JM: There are faces that appear and disappear into the canvas in your pieces, are these pieces at all representational?

JT: Yes they are representational, each face or figure contributes something to the overall narrative of the piece. Collectively they convey a single emotion or visual experience, but individually, through their body language, posture or facial expression, they represent the varied and often nuanced feelings that make-up the larger picture or story.

JM: Most of your pieces contain birds or make references to their wings, what does it symbolize for you?

JT: Birds came into my work when I started incorporating landscapes. They gradually became more prevalent. I think birds can symbolize many things, for me it has a lot to do with migration and change. Moving through a period of time, experience or season in one's life.

Jonna Twigg is a Brooklyn based artist who grew up in Columbus, Ohio. She graduated from the Columbus College of Art and Design with a major in painting and printmaking. She has shown her work at Skylight Gallery in Brooklyn, Mahan Gallery in Columbus, Art Gotham in New York, and ROY G BIV Gallery in Columbus. Her work was also part of the Yili Art Foundation Annual Show. Artist that inspire and influence her Ralph Steadman, Takashi Murakami, Yoshimoto Nara, and Inka Essenhigh.

"Countenance" is presented by ArtForward in collaboration at Mazi's:

ArtForward focuses on unconventional collaborations with the art community and business ventures outside the visual arts, to elevate emerging artists and their works to the forefront. It is deeply rooted in working with local art councils, artist studios, alternative spaces, galleries, auction houses and contemporary museums to widen the channels for exhibition opportunities and cooperative projects in tandem with dispersing appreciation in the arts.

Posted by Joyce Manalo // New York City based Brooklyn Art Project Blog Editor and Founder of ArtForward

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