"Sunset" Painting

Joanne Derecho is an abstract expressionist artist whose work explores emotion, memory, identity, and the unseen connection between the inner self and the world around us.

Born in Iloilo, Philippines, and now based in Italy, Joanne draws from two cultural landscapes that have shaped her artistic language. Her paintings are intuitive and emotionally driven, often beginning without a predetermined image or narrative. Instead, color, movement, texture, and gesture become a direct way of expressing what cannot always be communicated through words.

Her approach to abstraction is deeply personal. Each painting becomes a visual record of a feeling, a moment, or an internal experience. Layers are built, disrupted, scraped back, and transformed, allowing traces of earlier gestures to remain visible beneath the surface. The resulting works invite the viewer to look beyond recognizable forms and connect with the emotion within the painting.

Joanne's practice is rooted in the belief that abstract expressionism can create a direct connection between the artist's soul and the viewer's own emotional experience. Rather than telling the viewer what to see, she leaves space for personal interpretation, allowing each work to evoke something different in each person.

Her work reflects a continuous exploration of freedom, vulnerability, resilience, transformation, and the complexity of human experience.

Through her paintings, Joanne seeks not simply to create an image, but to create an emotional encounter — a moment in which color, texture, and gesture speak for themselves.

Her recent body of work, Kabuhi, reflects this philosophy. The title comes from the Hiligaynon word for "life" or "living," connecting her contemporary abstract practice with her Filipino roots and the experiences that continue to shape her identity as an artist.

Joanne is currently based in Liguria, Italy, where she continues to develop her abstract expressionist practice and exhibit her work.