Gallery ArtistsJoanna Manousis

Artist Statement

My work is born out of a sustained exploration of human nature and the conflicts between our inner reality and the world we occupy. I often emphasise decadence and grandiosity to illuminate the superfluous nature of accumulated luxury when faced with our impermanence. I am also interested in engaging the viewer’s gaze, drawing the participant into a state of reflection, literally and philosophically, about the essence of human existence and ideas related to growth, emotionality, aspiration and mortality.

Glass is my chosen medium and I am drawn to its contrasting qualities–transparent yet solid, it simultaneously reveals yet barricades. In recent works, I have used cast glass as a lens to magnify residual formations of objects within. These negative spaces are occasionally mirrored, enlivening static surfaces in my pursuit to reflect the viewer and the environment that the work inhabits. Incorporating the audience’s gaze, distorted or clear, centralises the viewer within the work, facilitating a stronger connection between observer and object.

Biography

Joanna Manousis is a British / American artist working in glass and mixed media. Her work has been recognised with nominations for the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Award and a Bombay Sapphire Award Nomination for ‘Excellence in Glass’, and she has received the Margaret M. Mead Award and the Hans Godo Frabel Award. Joanna has participated in internationally recognised residency programs, including the Glass Pavilion at the Toledo Museum of Art, Ohio; the Museum of Arts and Design, New York; the Corning Museum of Glass, New York; and Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris, France. Her work has been exhibited at Design Miami and Art Basel, Basel, Switzerland; FOG Art + Design, San Francisco; the Glasmuseet Ebeltoft, Ebeltoft, Denmark; and the British Glass Biennale, Stourbridge, England.

Joanna is pursuing a practice-based PhD at The National Glass Centre through The University of Sunderland. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Sculpture from Alfred University, New York, and a Bachelor of Fine Art–Glass from The University of Wolverhampton, England. Joanna has worked, studied, and taught in Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia.