Bruise, oil on wood panel

Korean-born, Los Angeles-based artist Joanne Nam creates figurative paintings that draw on surrealist and illustrative techniques. Primarily working with feminine figures, Nam’s works take on a sense of dreamlike self-portraiture.

Hiatus, oil on canvas

I love the softness and detail with which each of Nam’s artworks is rendered. The smoothly realistic style that Nam employs reminds me a little of the works of Hannah Yata, who also tends to employ surreal forms of storytelling. Forest and foliage imagery appears frequently in Nam’s portfolio, with pale figures often placed central to the painted plane and contrasted sharply with the darkness of the backgrounds.

Nam’s works have an aesthetic and tonal undercurrent of darkness, with figures often appearing disoriented or apprehensive. Through this deliberate sense of tension, each artwork takes on a sense of urgency, asking the viewer to examine each detail as if solving a mystery.  

Paranoia, oil on wood panel