| My paintings are infinitely domestic. The images I use have become symbols of the celebration I feel for the women in my life past and present. The objects I use are deeply cherished and loved.The kitchen is the heart of the house, the kitchen table, the pots, cups and bowls are vessels for this narrative. In the summer months I spend time on the Kent coast and have done since childhood. The nostalgia I experience here is another narrative for my work. Although using these same symbols, in my most recent paintings the perspective has shifted slightly. The previously distant shapes of the sails on the horizon have come closer. These paintings are about love, loss and the contemplation of time passing.
The surface of the canvas is built up in layers of gesso and paint – with each one showing hints of the last. This part of the process (I think) comes from my origins in printmaking. The quality of the final surface of the painting is evidence of this. The richness and depth of the surface is like the memory itself. -Jo Oakley Biography Born in London 1964, Jo Oakley graduated in Fine Art from the North East London Polytechnic. Initially specialising in Printmaking she naturally progressed to painting later on. She describes her work as “a celebration I feel for the women in my life past and present,” exploring themes of nostalgia and domestic space, with a focus on the kitchen as the heart of the home. She builds up the surface of the canvas with a combination of gesso and oil, creating layers of paint and showing hints of the last. From the success of her paintings, Jo has regularly exhibited across the UK at major art fairs in London, the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in 2010 and at our gallery here in Bath. Her work has also been shown across Europe, in Paris, Amsterdam and Stockholm. |
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| Selected Exhibitions
Solo Show – Beaux Arts Bath 2014, 2016 |
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