Joanna Drakos will be exhibiting her latest painting series, “Artifacts of Introspection,” at Sierra Arts Foundation Riverside Gallery, in downtown Reno, Nevada, September 7-30, 2023.  There will be an artist reception September 23, 2023, from 12 noon to 4:00 pm.

A brief statement from the artist: “One year ago, at the apex of summer heat, I had the misfortune of suffering a heat-related illness. My recovery was slow, and it began to affect my state of mind. All the while, compounded by the unrelenting intensity of the extreme temperatures that affected my ability to perform daily tasks. I continued to paint in the refuge of my studio where I fantasized about escaping to a place of coolness, comfort, and hope. Using my painting practice to transport me, I created the concept of Winter’s Realm as an antidote to the one-hundred degree temperatures outside. As the project progressed through the seasons, my exploration of this escapist world took unexpected twists and turns. I emerged from a cool place, through sunsets and solstices and entered the enveloping rich textures of a birch forest. The paintings traversed a path of escape and catharsis as the color palette and painting techniques evolved and shifted. The resulting series of paintings are best described as my Artifacts of Introspection.

I paint my abstract canvases in an intuitive style that follows an intention that I’ve set for myself. I use various sensory input for artistic inspiration: music, scent, color, atmospheric mood, and inward mental explorations; what I like to call “falling down the rabbit hole” of thought. This is all a part of the therapeutic benefit I derive from painting. My anxious anticipation of the next summer and the next, as temperatures continue an upward trajectory, is not something I look forward to; but through painting, I’ve found a way to cope.

This project is funded through a grant by the Nevada Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.