JOANNE
530 West 25th Street, New York, NY
Joanne Wallen Syrop utilizes dreamesque scenes of earthly elements, celestial compositions, and both apparent yet indecipherable shapes to illustrate her unmatched artistic style. Working mainly in sculpture with steel, aluminum, wood, and other materials, Syrop first begins with defining a singular concept: the piece’s message. The artist feels that the forms she constructs communicate with each other, and without welds, balance becomes a vital aspect both figuratively and literally. While held in suspension, these portrayed relationships act as reinforcement of the possibilities of life.
Syrop also has a background in dance and in the past, studied under choreographers Martha Graham and Jóse Limón. Presently, this artform plays an important role in her life. She attends six to seven classes a week, and relates the movement of dance to that of her pieces. Syrop recalls the Metropolitan Museum as a playground of inspiration and the Guggenheim Museum as a cause for her strong affinity for sculpture. Her mother was also an artist, so her transition into the field was a natural, familiar development. She received her Bachelor’s in History of Art from New York University and ran the design department of an architectural firm designing furniture, rugs, murals, and more. All of these experiences enhance the work she does today.
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Snapshot 1
Acrylic and photos on canvas 24” x 28” please inquire
Morning
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Don’t Let Go Paint on steel
20” x 28” x 16” please inquire
Zoom 2
Acrylic on steel 16” x 26” x 15” please inquire
As an artist I create paintings and sculpture that delve into the physical reality and beauty of color and the mysteries of life, all the while believing that dreams can supersede reality. I begin building my pieces with a sense of what I want the forms to convey. Are they pulling apart? Are they resisting each other? The forms talk to one another, moving in unison to express our oneness with nature; sometimes dissolving into it and then reemerging, not quite whole. Creating life size models in heavy paper enables me to study the balance and interaction of the sculptures before they are cut into steel and assembled. My wire, washer and wood sculptures exist because the forms are self supporting as they are assembled. Being a dancer, I have always been interested in the core of things; the bones, how forms hold together and are independent while being completely dependent upon one another. As a result, I see my pieces as a reinforcement of the possibilities of life; stable yet evolving structures, forms in suspension, concepts defined by line and space. This precarious and somewhat mysterious equilibrium is what fascinates me.
