Donkey carrying the weight of our grief Print

Joanna Bland was born in Wellington, New Zealand in 1958 into an artistic family. Her father Peter Bland is a decorated poet and an actor with many film, tv and stage credits. Her brother Carl is also a recognised artist and well known classical actor in New Zealand. In 1969 her family moved to London. This was also where she studied attending Kingston, Byam Shaw and Camberwell art colleges. Growing up in 1970s London moving from New Zealand gave her a view point that cross’s over ancient art and contemporary. Her work has been evolving through different styles but always with the same emotion. A sense of mystery embracing nature and what it means to be alive with nature. This abstract, colourist series is about air, light, colour in the small space of a garden. Joanna’s influences have been impressionist, outsider art naive. Joanna has migrated from naive to abstract in the last 5 years. She started abstract in the early days and have now returned to it after the journey, “I have found my voice with this”. Later she moved back to New Zealand and achieved a period of sustained success, exhibited at John Leech Gallery, Brooker Gallery, Kitchener Gallery in Auckland. She also in Wellington City Art Gallery as part of an exhibition for New Zealand woman’s art. Joanna’s work has been catalogued in New Zealand for works resold at auction Joanna has successfully sold her work throughout her career and is part of many private collections in New Zealand, Australia, USA and the UK. 20 years ago she moved back to the UK and has from her own studio in West Sussex where she is currently based.