Joyce Raimondo

Biography

Joyce Raimondo’s diverse creativity includes painting, sculpture, illustration, murals, and the creation of award-winning art books. In 1979, Joyce was awarded a full-tuition merit scholarship from School of Visual Arts in New York where she graduated with a B.F.A. with Honors and received the Rhodes Family Award for Outstanding Achievement in 1983. In 2000, she was chosen for inclusion in the Best of the Best exhibition at School of Visual Arts from 20 years of alumni. She holds an M.F.A. in painting from Queens College City University of New York -- 1991.

As a young adult, Joyce Raimondo experienced several losses including the death of her brother. These early experiences fueled two life-long trajectories in her creative drive. Referencing her autobiography, her mixed media works turns inward expressing loss, emotional intimacy, and vulnerability. Raimondo's vibrant paintings, illustrations, murals, and art books, turn outward -- celebrating her playful creativity and joy.

Raimondo has exhibited in New York City and East Hampton where she resides. Her solo exhibitions include the noted feminist art site, A.I.R Gallery in Manhattan, Queens College, and numerous group shows. She has been published in The Museum of Modern Art’s Education Newsletter, The New York Times, Boston Globe, Dallas Times Herald, and numerous publications.

Joyce Raimondo is author of seven art books including The Museum of Modern Art’s Art Safari and the Art Explorer series published by Random House. Former faculty member of School of Visual Arts and Education Coordinator at The Museum of Modern Art in New York, she is an expert in visual literacy and museum education. She is Founding Director of Imagine That! Art Education and is Education Coordinator for the Pollock- Krasner House and Study Center — a national landmark in East Hampton.

Artist statement

Following the loss of my brother as a young adult, I made hundreds of artworks that pictured loss. I painstakingly embroidered barely visible words into intricate grids.  Seen and unseen, the words were an expression of the imperceptible pain of bereavement.  

Moving through bereavement to hope, my creativity transformed into vibrant paintings. Bright colors emerged onto my canvases as I began painting words embedded into playful designs. The complex designs in my images begin with small free flowing drawings that I then project onto large canvases.  Although the large compositions are derived from spontaneous drawings, they are then painted with methodical stillness obliterating the artist’s mark. The paintings imply jam packed movement "popping" with color,  yet the meticulous method of applying paint is a meditation calming my mind.

My paintings draw viewers into a visual puzzle — playing with perception. Bold graphic abstractions can alternately be recognized as phrases readable in varying degrees.  My work calls attention to visual ambiguity and paradox; active and still, constricted and expressive, abstract and recognizable, whimsical and serious,  labor intensive and fragile. As an artist, I am keenly aware that opposite truths co-exist and we see the world through our own subjective lens.