COME FIND ME WHERE THE WILD THINGS GROW.
"I SPEAK TO THE OUTLAWS, THE WILD ONES, THE RULE BREAKERS, THE CHANGE MAKERS. TO THE LIONS, THE UNTAMED, THE GODDESSES, THE WARRIORS, THE BOLD, THE BRAVE, THE FIERCE, THE MAGNIFICENT."
- JOANA TOMAZ
Behind The Art
Joana is a dynamic contemporary artist, specialising in expressive realism. She paints the fiery, elemental Feminine.
The artist’s passion for empowering the female gaze, shows in her artistic themes. Her women are invariably powerful, provocative, and always fiercely, authentically feminine.
The large scale of her paintings envelop and magnetise, while inviting the viewer on a journey of discovery of Woman as Feral, as Queen, as Goddess.
Partway between enchantment and ferocity; Her work is influenced by the goddesses and warriors of Nordic, Greek and Roman mythology, layered with glamorous, gilded flavours of Art Nouveau & Art Deco. By Artemisia Gentileschi, Gustav Klimt, Frida Kahlo, Tamara de Lempicka, Alphonse Mucha and Rebecca Léveillé Guay. By the words of contemporary writers Maya Angelou, Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Nikita Gil, and the poets and voices rallying to the call of the Divine Wild.
In an overwhelmingly digital world, she gravitates to the tactile, ancient medium of oil on canvas. Her use of saturated warm earth tones, gold, transparency, visible brushstrokes, paint drips, bold chiaroscuro contrasts, and embedded handwritten poetry lend depth and vibrance to the atmosphere of primal sensuality her subjects embrace.
Every scent in her studio, every layer of her process speaks to a facet of the stories she weaves on her canvas.
"WE ALL HAVE A LITTLE UNTAMED IN US. I WANT TO DRAW OUT A PRIMAL URGE, A HEAT, PASSION AND CRAVING. WHEN YOU EXPERIENCE MY ART I WANT YOU TO FEEL SOMETHING WILD AWAKEN IN YOU. I WANT YOU ROOTED TO THE SPOT, YOUR HEART BEATING A LITTLE FASTER. I WANT YOU TO HAVE THAT KNOWING."
- JOANA TOMAZ
ONCE UPON A TIME
Warrior. Woman. Artist.
Joana's backstory is formidable. She is a survivor of an apocalyptic cult. A start in life that is difficult to imagine even conceptually. Yet somehow she found the fight and grit to overcome each of the odyssean challenges she met on her journey of liberation with determination, strength, depth of character and a grace that is translated in each of her exquisitely expressive paintings.
As a young woman, she moved to Italy where she immersed herself in the Mediterranean culture, teaching herself to oil paint, exploring her artistic talents, processing her experiences through her art. She developed her voice under the mentorship of Italian and international artists, studying at the Milan Art Institute.
Her rebel nature, together with an insatiable wanderlust and a magnetic attraction for the freedom of loosing herself in adventure, has had the artist traveling extensively around the world, gathering creative inspiration from powerful women, past and present. From Viking shield maidens to Amazonian warriors, from Roman-Greco goddesses, to modern day trailblazers revolutionising the feminine world.
WHERE WILD THINGS GROW
Joana is a prolific artist. Her work is collected globally and hangs in private collections in Brazil, America, The United Kingdom, Australia, Scandinavia, Italy, Austria, and many more.
She has upcoming shows in Rome, New York, Paris and Dubai.
The artist lives and paints in Rome, birthplace of the arts, mythology and divine magic.
When she is not in her studio, she draws inspiration exploring the timeless magic of Italy, Greece and Spain.
Currently she is working on a new series of large scale paintings themed “Come and Find me where the Wild things Grow”, which will include limited edition fine art prints, and a hardcover coffee table book.