Joanna Pinkiewicz

Abstraction, water, and the inner landscape

Image: RISE artist Joanna Pinkiewicz working in her studio. Photo: QVMAG.

Based in her Lulworth studio on Tasmania’s coast, Joanna Pinkiewicz merges spiritual practice with artistic exploration. “Living on the coast has been wonderful for my physical, mental and spiritual health,” she explains. Her work integrates the inner and outer world, allowing the rhythm of life and nature to flow into her art.

Joanna is an abstract artist whose focus is on form, composition, and materiality. “I’m interested in the process of abstraction, experimentation with forms, composition and materiality to discover new meanings,” she says. Her practice thrives in mystery and discovery: “I love the unknown, being engaged in a mystery, in a process that teaches me to trust and discovering what can emerge from that.” Water particularly captures her imagination – she observes it as a primordial being or a place, a recurring motif in her work.

Image: Joanna finds inspiration in her coastal surrounds. Photo: QVMAG.

Her techniques emphasise atmosphere, depth, and memory. Joanna works primarily with watercolour, layering textures and washing them off to create nuanced effects. Each layer carries a sense of time and evokes a contemplative, almost ritualistic engagement with the medium.

Joanna’s journey began with her studies at UTAS in 1996, complemented by ongoing engagement with contemporary art and her spiritual practice, which includes ritual and reflection. This combination informs her abstract explorations and her engagement with current political, philosophical, and environmental issues.

Image: Joanna uses watercolour to create her artworks. Photo: QVMAG.

For RISE, Joanna hopes viewers will engage with both her subject matter and her technique. “I hope people can appreciate the subject matter, my approach to abstraction and the watercolour technique,” she says. Participation in RISE also signifies recognition and support from her community, providing momentum for future exhibitions locally and interstate.

Her advice to emerging artists is both practical and philosophical: “If you are born with a deep desire to dig at something that stirs you, then throw yourself wholeheartedly in it.

"Art is one way to live a good life. And I think the world needs artists, because we are culture makers… Keep at it. Dig deep. It will bring fruit.”

Through her layered, contemplative watercolours, Joanna Pinkiewicz offers viewers a space to reflect, discover, and connect with the subtle, transformative power of abstraction.

 

 

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