Spectacle

Artwork documentation by John Janca.
Artist statement below.

"Sweet Fascination" oil on linen, 24x36" 2020 
Artwork documentation by John Janca.

"Not One of those Who Can Easily Hide" oil on linen, 24x36" 2020
Artwork documentation by John Janca.

"Spilling the Tea" oil on linen, 24x36" 2020
Artwork documentation by John Janca.

"Sticky-Sweet" oil on linen, 24x36" 2020
Artwork documentation by John Janca.

"Everything Nice" oil on linen, 24x36" 2020
Artwork documentation by John Janca.

"Everything is Sunshine and Rainbows Apparently" oil on linen, 24x36" 2020
Artwork documentation by John Janca.
Private Collection.

"Always Smiling" oil on linen, 24x36" 2020
Artwork documentation by John Janca.

"Taking Silly Seriously" oil on linen, 24x36" 2020
Artwork documentation by John Janca.

"GRL PWR" oil on canvas, 48x60" 2019
Artwork documentation by John Janca.
Private collection.​​

"She Laughed as Loudly as She Wished" oil on canvas, 48x36" 2019
Artwork documentation by John Janca.

"Resilience Comes in the Form of Rainbows," oil on canvas, 32x48" 2019
Artwork documentation by John Janca.

"Doe, a Deer, a Female Deer" oil on canvas, 40x58" 2019
Artwork documentation by John Janca.
Private Collection.

"Pour Myself a Cup of Ambition" oil on canvas 48x60" 2019
Artwork documentation by John Janca.

"Pretty Expectations" oil on canvas, 36x48" 2018
Artwork documentation by John Janca.

"Perky Petals" oil on canvas 24x36" 2018.
Artwork documentation by John Janca.
​Private Collection.

"Blushing" oil on canvas, 40x60" 2018
Artwork documentation by John Janca.

"Pink, Plastic & Proud," oil on canvas 48x60" 2017.
Artwork documentation by John Janca.
​Private Collection.

"Put on a Happy Face," oil on canvas, 24x36" 2017
Artwork documentation by John Janca.

"Playing the Part," oil on canvas 34x46" 2017.
Artwork documentation by John Janca.
​Private Collection.

"Bright Lights and Lollipops," oil on canvas 32x48" 2016.
Artwork documentation by John Janca.
​Private Collection. 

"Everything's Coming Up Roses," oil on canvas 48x60" 2016.
Artwork documentation by John Janca.
​Private Collection.

"Thoughts on Being Agreeable," oil on canvas 32x48" 2016.
Artwork documentation by John Janca.
​Private Collection.

"Wallflower," oil on canvas 30x40" 2016
Artwork documentation by John Janca.

Installation View of Solo Exhibition at Glass Rice in San Francisco, 2017. Photography by John Janca. ​

Installation View of Solo Exhibition at Glass Rice in San Francisco, 2017. Photography by John Janca. ​

Installation View of Solo Exhibition at Glass Rice in San Francisco, 2017. Photography by John Janca. 

Spectacle

I enjoy making visually entertaining paintings that reflect the feminine spectacle. My work begins with a still life decoden reference, composed of tiny, plastic objects, undulating in fake frosting and sparkles. I manipulate and enlarge the imagery into bright, bold oil paintings. Conceptually I’m investigating the complex nature of girlhood in America, where young women simultaneously ingest messages of oppression and empowerment. My paintings engage with the aesthetics of joy as laid out by Ingrid Fetell Lee. Lee describes expressions of joy as a form of resistance, a theory that resonates with me. 

The oil paintings depict clusters of oversaturated, exuberant, sweet objects that take on a fantastical nature due to their enlarged scale. The viewer is invited to step into a bizarre world of personified desserts and theatrical playthings. My paintings reference the overwhelming pink toy aisle found in many American shops, with pop culture influences including Lucille Ball, Dolly Parton, John Waters, Barbarella, broadway musicals and Hello Kitty. 

I value artwork that is approachable to those both inside and outside of the artworld, work that is inclusive and engaging for all ages. As an American woman artist I revel in working with color in an impactful way, working in direct opposition to the prejudice that David Batchelor describes below. 
​
“In the first, colour is made out to be the property of some ‘foreign’ body - usually the feminine, the oriental, the primitive, the infantile, the vulgar, the queer or the pathological. In the second, colour is relegated to the realm of the superficial, the supplementary, the inessential or the cosmetic.” (David Batchelor, excerpt from Chromophobia, London: Reaktion, 2000, p. 23)

The over the top work is presented with a high level of energy, fun and a certain degree of silliness, contradicting a long history of painting where this type of work has been dismissed. With a complicated sense of fascination and a heightened curiosity, I present my ongoing series of oil paintings Spectacle.