Joanna Gresik
My work makes the familiar feel new, and invites people to see beauty in the ordinary.
Message
I am a corporate interior designer by day and an abstract artist in the fringe hours, living and working in Burlington, Ontario. My love for interiors and architecture inspires my work as I aim to create beauty from my surroundings.
I create paintings that are inspired by the energy and life of the landscape shown through sharp lines, carefully crafted colour palettes and gestural abstract expressionist marks.
I graduated with my degree from the Interior Design Program at Humber College in 2009. After working for a few years at a large firm, I decided to return to school to study fine art. In 2015, I graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from OCAD University in Toronto. I now work at a wonderful design firm by day and pursue my art practice by night. I love both design and art equally as they each inform each other and allow me to constantly make new connections and be inspired by new ideas.
Statement
My work explores abstracted visions of the everyday landscape. I am inspired by the spaces we move through in our daily routines—places often overlooked, yet deeply familiar. For me, landscape is not about the sublime or untouched; rather, it is about finding meaning in the mundane. My paintings do not depict a single moment in time but instead weave together multiple impressions—fleeting, familiar, and sometimes unrecognizable. Through thick, gestural oil paint and expressive mark-making, I abstract the landscape to convey the sensation of movement and memory. Pencil lines and vibrant oil sticks trace the paths of wind, birds, and leaves, suggesting that these spaces are alive and constantly shifting. I’m drawn to vibrant colors, which I balance with muted tones to create harmony and tension within the work. Ultimately, my goal is to express how moving through these landscapes shapes my perception of place and self.