We are proud to exhibit Steve Joy’s new dazzlingly decadent collection Architecture of Silence in our St Ives Gallery from 31st March to 17th April.
From France to Thailand, Greece and Cornwall, we were privileged to hear the stories of Steve’s personal and artistic journeys last Thursday evening as we celebrated the opening of the show.
Icon Study Olive Grove Mixed Media on Hollow Core Wood Panel, 63.5 x 200.6 cm
‘So haunting are his works that we are summoned to them much the way one is drawn to the warmth and glow of an evening campfire. They possess an intellectual richness and completeness reflective of a life’s journey of discovery in pursuit of the self,’
John Brooks Joyner, former Director of Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha
A Gallery Guilded in Gold – Steve Joy’s work now on show in St Ives
Born in Plymouth and raised in St Anthony, Cornwall, Steve now divides his time between his studios on the Rame Peninsula and in Omaha, Nebraska. He has received international acclaim for his wondrously rich, glowing paintings with notable collectors in Norway and the US and so we are delighted to present his work to the South West.
Inspired by Barnett Newman, Agnes Martin, Mark Rothko and Brice Marden, Steve was drawn towards Abstraction as a means to express his own spiritual journeys through paint. His painterly sensibilities and use of wax, varnish, gold and silver leaf echo traditional Byzantine painting techniques, the influences of Greek and Russian Icons and also the craftsmanship of Stradivarius’ violin varnishing techniques.
Little Icon Green Robe
Mixed Media on Hollow Core Wood Panel, 38 x 25.5 cm
Little Icon Red and Gold Study Mixed Media on Hollow Wood Core Panel, 35.6 x 25.4 cm
Steve’s carefully constructed abstract paintings of rich harmonious colour emanate a transcendent quality. His new immersive mixed media paintings are inspired by travels to Patmos, Greece, and the Sukhotai Temples of Thailand. A visit to the Cistercian Abbeys of France last year with his associate and mentor Sean Scully has also largely influenced the collection. Offering a universal spirituality without direct religious reference, Joy explained in his presentation how he sought to ‘capture the sense of silence, contemplation and timelessness’ of the Cistercian Abbeys of France in his latest portfolio.
An avid traveller and enthusiastic cyclist, Steve’s time in the RAF and subsequent journeys throughout the Middle East, Norway, the Mediterranean, Mexico, Japan and the Maldivian atolls expose him to diverse cultures and foreign terrains. Architecture of Silence reflects such experiences and Steve hopes that viewers can embark upon their own journeys and enter the spirit of these places whilst revelling in the fact that you need not be eccentric to be extraordinary!
Architecture of Silence III, Mixed Media on Handmade 800 gsm Fabriano Paper 55.8 x 76.2 cm