Joyce Polance

Joyce Polance is a painter working in oils.

Polance was born in New York City in 1965. She attended Wesleyan University and received a BFA from the Fashion Institute of Technology. She has exhibited internationally and has work in many private and corporate collections. Polance is represented by Judy Ferrara Gallery in Three Oaks, MI, Hemley Gallery in Passaic, NJ, and Elephant Room in Chicago. She may also be contacted directly for purchase of paintings.

Artist's statement

In our current political climate of amplified voices and vehement certainties of belief, I explore what happens when things aren't so definite.

My paintings blur the definitions of figures and landscapes. Trees and mountains scream, dissolving into creatures, churning with inner turmoil. Figures branch into abstracted scenery and spaces.

I begin a painting with a specific reference, but once the image is initially laid in, I cease looking at it. Instead, I engage in dialogue with the painting, letting it lead me to unknown places. Objects begin to change shape; planes become distorted, crashing into one another, melting. I often paint upside down in order to view the subject as an abstract composition, enabling me to focus on color and movement rather than on representation. I throw myself into the work with abandon, covering up or breaking apart surfaces I have just created. In becoming willing to destroy my work, I allow for something entirely new to emerge. These processes occur multiple times during the creation of a piece, removing the image even further from reality. My use of thick, impasto paint, gouges, intense color, and expressive brushwork all contribute to obscuring the specific features of my subject while revealing previously hidden emotional qualities.

For me, it is in these emotions where the truth lies.