Pollyxenia Joannou

By Sharne Wolff

Pollyxenia Joannou’s career as an artist and teacher at the National Art School spans almost thirty years. In this show of Recent Work her use of intense oranges, yellows and reds, together with the medium of natural felt provides an overall sense of warmth. Shape is also a dominant feature of each of these oil paintings and sculptures as Joannou experiments with depth and various configurations but often recalls that basic and very familiar childhood drawing, the square-topped-with-triangle ‘house’ – a profile that leaps political, social and cultural boundaries. The apparent simplicity of these paintings is part of their appeal. Although the painted shapes might represent a memory, an idea or even a matrix of more complex thinking for the artist, each concept has been broken down into a pure and elegant form.

In her felt sculpture ‘Safe’ Joannou has made a large ‘house’ profile set on castors and constructed from layers of white felt laid one upon another. The warmth and tactility of the felt forms a structure that is both soft and tough. This mobile home serves as a stimulus for thinking about what we mean by the security and permanence of the ‘home’ in our personal lives, as individuals, and in our cities and nations.

Until October 20

Conny Dietzschold Gallery, East Sydney

www.connydietzscholdgallery.com