Joanna Salska is a painter and a founding member of a new interdisciplinary art movement Alterrealism which is described as “…a cultural movement with the purpose of accentuating [in a variety of artistic mediums] the fluid connection between the subconscious and conscious worlds.” Her paintings are meant to create a sustained emotional effect despite multiple narrative tensions. Her work often holds a sense of quiet power, emergence and wisdom or resolve in the face of anticipated struggle. In her words it is a painting of intuition itself. The show Landscapes comes of a newly woven language or path the artist has forged in her explorations: First, she has always made small collage studies using cut up photographs and geometric scraps of painted paper to work through visual ideas. She says “the scraps of paper are like stones for a stonemason: they tell me what to do and how to fit them together…”. Secondly she has also added to her collage studies some geometric vocabulary and gesturally portrayed content from earlier landscape paintings. Fleeting memories and suggested dialogues are hidden within formal structures hinting at a narrative from the artist’s own subconscious. Thus Salska’s work displays ethereal strength-a provocative combination.
Joanna Salska was born in Poland and received her MFA from Warsaw Academy of Fine Art. She is a painter and a founding member of a new interdisciplinary art movement called Alterrealism. Her work has been shown at Foster Goldstrom Fine Arts, Allrich Gallery, PII Roszkowska Galleries and others. She was invited twice to Beijing Biennale and her paintings are in many collections including Beijing Museum, Pamela Bonino, Yaddo Foundation, Washington Museum of Women in the Arts and many other private collections. She lives in Berkeley with her husband and 16-year-old Australian Cattle dog Buster.
SPECIAL EVENTS:
Opening Reception/ Third Thursday: May 21st, 5 – 9pm
First Friday Oakland Art Murmur: June 5th, 6-9pm