Joy Kinna
Canadian-based abstract artist Joy Kinna draws inspiration from the landscape, coastline and nature when creating her ethereal paintings.
Words: Matthew Burgos | Photography: Brenna Louise
Photo: Brenna Louise
Photo: Brenna Louise
Joy Kinna’s dreamy artwork is the accumulation of her feelings, memories, and subconscious and conscious thoughts.
Living and working just outside of Vancouver, Canada, she has grown up surrounded by landscapes and coasts, two major themes that continue to bring life and vision to her work.
For as long as she can remember, Joy has been immersed in art, but it wasn’t until she studied art in university that she explored abstract painting. ‘My approach to art now is very intuitive while still being heavily inspired by materials and the act and process of art-making itself.’
To bring forth her relationship with art, she birthed Neutrals and Neutrals Continued, her anthologies of abstract paintings employing earth colors and referencing figures and forms of landscapes and nature. ‘The beauty of creating and doing visual research is that you follow its direction. I keep exploring it until I feel like there is nothing left to explore or something else has captured my attention.’
At a glance, her creative process ebbs and flows as she forages her inspiration from her everyday environment. The imagery may resemble ridges of mountains, deserted deserts, blades of leaves, and brown skies and shores. Her choice of colours is subdued, with smokey and terracotta browns, creamy whites, and titan buff reigning supreme.
‘I consider my painting’s life beyond the studio by imagining the space it will dwell in,’ says Joy Kinna. Photo: Brenna Louise
‘I find journaling and writing about my work and process crucial to my art-making rhythm,’ says Joy Kinna. Photo: Brenna Louise
“As I create, I learn more about myself, my preferences and ideas, and the way I function.”
‘My approach to art is intuitive. It relies on the materials, and the act and process of art-making itself,’ says Joy Kinna. Photo: Brenna Louise
As an artist, Joy finds it hard to disassociate herself from her work. The more she creates, the more she learns about herself and the way she functions with her preferences, ideas, and materials.
‘As an artist, I have learned so much about myself and the world around me simply by having the time to observe and watch.’
When asked about which of her artworks reflects who she is as an artist, Kinna says she resonates with Into The Rush and Here and Now. ‘The titles are juxtaposing. Into the Rush feels full and busy, while Here and Now is about being present, slowing down, and frankly the opposite of rush. I think these are the two real parts of myself and my artistic process. There is the “go, go, go”, the busy, the hustle, but more importantly, there is the here and now – the slowing, processing, and reflecting.’
Photo: Brenna Louise
Photo: Brenna Louise
