I am reviewing Joseph Joy’s Paintings. His style has a pop art feel. His paintings seem to comment on the important issues within our culture. The work touches on sex, politics, pornography and fast food just to name a few. His seems to interpret his own experience involving these subjects into his work.
The paintings themselves are simple and straightforward in their content. In most of his work he uses vibrant and muted colors in contrast. The subjects are not very detailed. His line detail is minimal. The color has more impact. His work has a cartoon feel to it.
A few of his pieces deal with homosexual/transgender content. He has a painting of a woman in a pool that could be interpreted to have a male profile. Another one of his paintings reads, “God Said Kill Fags”. I interpret this as a stab at the religious right that believes homosexuality is a sin. I think this is an absurd statement. Joseph Joy could have been expressing his own disgust at this by painting this extreme statement.
I enjoyed his paintings because although they are simple, the content invites one in to dig for the deeper meaning behind each piece. America is overwhelmed with fast food, over consumption, politics and sex. It is always enjoyable to see art that comments on relevant issues.
*these paintings can be found at:
http://www.furtherfield.org/jjoy/caribbean_sunshine/index.htm
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