Creation,
1979
Color Viscosity Etching |
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My
artistic journey began in the early seventies when I was introduced
to printmaking and worked in various printmaking studios in New York City. There I was mentored
by a host of artists in New York City. By 1981 I had relocated to Washington DC,
to work and grow professionally.
During the 70's and early 80's my concern was discovering a means
By which to create an art vocabulary and grammar that included vibrant colors, cryptic
marks, shapes and symbols that referenced mathematics, anthropomorphic
forms and personal experiences and references to my growing up in a household where "The numbers" were played. I was
on a journey to create work in the printmaking medium that became
vehicles by which the viewer could journey through contemplative space.
Look for
a Star, 1983
Color Viscosity Etching
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While in the mid- eighty's I continued to make prints, my focus turned
to painting, mixed media and drawing. Most important to me of course, was the development
of my artistic voice as a painter and printmaker. It has always been
through abstraction that I have sought to express my feelings. The use
of intuition, textures, vivid colors, mark making and a process-orientated
approach aided me in digging deeply into my heart to express myself.
Intuition aided by the use of stream consciousness fed the palette of
my work from 1985 through the early nineties. During this time I was
using oil paint stick on paper to create intuitive large-scale color,
charcoal, graphite and gouache mixed media drawings. Intuition was
to be the means by which the viewer could find his or her way around
my work. During this period I processed my work by constructing, deconstructing,
and reconstructing it. That meant tearing, pasting, coloring, the
scrambling and unscrambling of ideas and processes. It was what I
imagined that scientists do as they process combinations of DNA particles
in search of a mapping mechanism for the human gene "scape."
In my case, I was in search of a means of creating a truly emotional
work!
Number Genome, 2000
Mixed Media Acrylic Painting on Canvas
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In my recent body of work, I continue to be process-oriented. The
works thematically have become more non-objective yet remain cryptically
symbolic - even emotional. Thematically, I use abstract geometry
as a means of connecting the viewers with simplicity and therefore
to the spiritual in art. The vocabulary of my work continues to
include textures, mark making, mixed media and referential symbols,
but includes the introduction of a new palette. It allows me to
apply many layers of vibrant, transparent color to the geometric
and mathematically inspired content and canvases -- a layering that
is symbolic of the multi-faceted nature of human existence.
Artist Statement
The Two Lovers, 2000
Pastel on Paper
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Art
is the fuel that carries me on an adventure to discover the mysteries
of the universal and the individual self. Because art is both
seen and felt it has the power to engage the body, mind and spirit.
Guided by the universal intuition and random chance, the grammar,
emotion and passion of my art becomes knowable and meaningful,
and informs me and I hope others about ourselves and our world."
"Art
is my vessel. It is filled or emptied by the flow and ebb of
energies brought forth by the theater of my life. As in life,
art too is a journey on which I travel. Like a seed, I am blown
by a swirling wind into fertile soil in which the seeds of my
intuitive self can bloom. Intuition is, after all is said and
done, the means to the end of creative expression."
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Drawings
Mixed Media
Paintings
Prints
2010
The Rhythm oif Structure:The Cattesian MathArt Hive Bowery
Poetry Club, 308 Bowery NewYork, NewYork Nov. 2009 - January 2010
2009
Art in Embassies Exhibition:
Georgetown, Guyana
"Rules
of Engagement"
University Of Maryland University College. College Park MD. June
11th - July 29th.
Tradition Redefined: The Larry and Brenda Thompson Collection
of African American Art. The David C. Driskell Center
at the University of Maryland, College Park.February 18th - May
29th.
2010
Joyce included in new book! Know the Artist Know
the Art Series #1 "Krishna Reddy:Master Printmaker,
Sculptor and Artist" by Dennis Forbes: Sebrof Books
2010
2009
US Library of Congress Aquires "STEAL
AWAY"! Created in 2005, this Artist Book, merges, visual
art, spoken word and song telling slavery times stories!
The David C. Driskell Center receives major donation of 227 works
of art from over 120 African American artists from the Jean and
robert Steele Collection. Wellman's color viscosity etching, "The
Water Family 1985" is included!
2008
An Eye On Italy Artist
Talks about recent Study Tour to Fabriano Italy on Saturday September
13, 2008
4:30-5:30pm. Studio B, Washington, DC
Transmutations Exhibition
New Door Creative gallery, Balt. Md.
Reception: Oct. 26th 3-6pm
Gallery Talk: Nov. 16th 12-2pm
2007
Wellman selected for Art in Public Places program. She creates "Balance
Master 3" for The
Eastern Market Windows Project. On view 5/15/07 -
5/15/09 Washington, DC
"Autumn Passages" A video documenting Wellman's
residency and public art commission at the NC A&T State University
Greensboro in 2005 is a featured short in the 2nd
Annual Heritage Film & Video Festival, March 31th 2007 Prince
George's Community College's Rennie Forum, Largo
Md
2006
New York Public Library Aquires color etching "Journey
Thru Migration" via a donation. Its added to their fine print
collection
2005
Wellman creates - Steal Away an artist book at
the Experimental Printmaking Institute, Lafayette College, PA.
as Teague Blackburn Visiting Artist
Joyce's painting "Heart BEAT" purchased to be included in The Washington
Convention Center Public Art Collection. It is the largest public art collection
in Washington DC
Autumn Passages Six panel
painting installed on View in lobby of New Science Building at North Carolina
A&T State University in Greensboro,NC!
Wellman's work featured in the following publications:
2010
Krishna Reddy: Master Printmaker-Sculptor - Artist by
Dennis Forbes ; Pub. Sebrof Bks. 2010 Forbes@ioip.com
2007
Set Theory brouchure
accompanying the exhibition at UNLR in
Creating Their Own Image: The History of African
American Women Artists by Lisa Farrington, Oxford University
Press, London 2005 pg.198
RHYTHM
OF STRUCTURE: MathArt in the African Diaspora International Review
of African American Art, Volume 19; Number 3 2004
Collecting Limited Edition Prints: Contemporary African
American Printmakers; By Dennis Forbes ISBN# 0-9745509-0-6,
2004
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