Sarah Joncas grew up on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls, and at a very young age, she was fascinated with dinosaurs, meaning she was surrounded—and surrounded herself with fierce, beautiful titans of nature. As befitting someone surrounded by all that forceful energy, she hurtled herself into her own force, directing it into art. She drew giant reptiles and lizards, then started showing at age16, had her 2007 debut at Thinkspace at 19 and now celebrates another opening with them, Pretty Broken Flower, in the Main Room of their Los Angeles gallery on August 22nd.
Although Sarah is awed by the power of the natural world, she harnesses the potency and allows it to manifest quietly. Now moved to paint portraits, she’s moved on to subjects captivating in their symmetrical serenity, beguiling faces who are, in turn, hunted or haunting, perhaps lost in thought or strategizing in subtle, feline sorcery. Her mix of oils and acrylics produce luminous facial studies amid modern, graphic set-pieces. Clothing offers clues, and surrounding her characters are floating references that turn another page in the story, but never shut the book. The artist explains how, “I give into intuition over forcing an objective.” Always, her fascination with nature appears, a leaf or feather, reminding us of an ongoing relationship that we often fear as it feeds us. —Gwynned Vitello
Thinkspace is proud to present Sarah Joncas through September 12.
