BIOGRAPHY
Joanna Durney Sanz was born in England to an English father and Spanish mother and travelled with her family to Australia as a young child where she eventually became a citizen and-long time resident. Having artistic predecessors on both sides of her family, Joanna showed talent at a young age and was supported to further her artistic studies at school and through extra-curricular art classes. Through her tertiary studies and work she explored the application of art and design in a corporate setting as well as furthering her own artistic vision. Frequent travel to Europe to visit relatives gave her an opportunity to explore the art and culture of her ancestral lands and helped to shape her aesthetic sensibilities. Joanna continues with her art practice based in Sydney, Australia.
CV
Joanna Durney Sanz majored in Fine Art at the University of Sydney, Australia and received a Certificate in Drawing from the National Art School, Sydney. She also holds a Graduate Diploma in Design from the University of Technology, Sydney and has worked as a graphic designer. Joanna has been a finalist in the Blue Thumb Digital Art Prize, Hornsby Prize and Willoughby Art Prizes, and has won prizes at Hornsby and Parramatta Art Society Member Exhibitions. In 2022 she held her first solo exhibition at Tiliqua Tiliqua Gallery, Enmore featuring lyrical abstract artworks and life drawings. More recently Joanna’s work has been featured in group shows at Luna Studio Newtown and Tiliqua Tiliqua Gallery.
STATEMENT
Joanna is a lyrical abstract painter who works predominantly in mixed media. Her work is energetic and flowing and is underpinned by strong drawing skills as can be seen in her portrait and life drawing works. Colour is often the starting point for her abstract works, which are inspired by nature and the imagination. Joanna’s artistic influences include abstract expressionists such as Kandinsky, Franz Marc, colourists such as Matisse, David Hockney and Brett Whiteley. The surrealists and cubist painters Picasso, Dali and De Chirico also contribute to her guiding aesthetic. Joanna is driven to produce works with mystery and power, with a visual ambiguity of space and rhythm of line and connecting shapes leaving the viewer intrigued and wanting to explore more.
