
Joey Korom is an abstract expressionist painter who has been a practicing artist for 50 years. He experiments with media, colors, and textures to produce artwork that is “purely optical;” that is, artwork meant to engage the viewer, visually and emotionally, without employing any associations outside of the work itself. Joey is passionate about this expressive type of abstraction, an artistic mode that escapes the rules of perspective and realism. His educational and professional background is in architecture, which he considers to be “the father of all arts.” The use of line, shape, and proportion in Joey’s work is visibly influenced by his experience as an architect, but he seeks to avoid the rigidity involved in architectural draftsmanship. He focuses instead on underlying structure, seductive color, and loose brushwork. The artist sees his style as a personal liberation from the demands of architectural drawing, and yet, he’s never lost the disciplines he was taught.
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About The Artist
Artist Statement
I embrace special interests in art history, architectural history, design theory, composition, and critique. I draw inspiration from early modernism, especially from the abstract expressionist work produced during the mid-twentieth century. My work continues to be subconsciously influenced by the compositional subtleties inherent in the work of the Cubist, Constructivist, and Bauhaus movements. Abstract Expressionism, particularly the work of Motherwell, Frankenthaler, Hoffman, and Hartigan, does indeed enter into my oeuvre; the architectural masterpieces produced by Mies van der Rohe, Graham, and Wright also play a part.
Architectural composition and the discipline of hand-drawing were not confined only to the classroom, but were practiced professionally. My drawing skills include the ability to construct axonometric and isometric views, one, two and three-point perspectives, worm’s-eye and bird’s-eye views, and of course building plans, sections, and elevations. Graphite, charcoals, inks, and colored pencils were employed by me to great precision.
As an artistic foil, as a creative release from that precisionist work, I have devoted myself to an expressive type of abstraction, to an artistic mode devoid of the rules of perspective drawing, to codes and to gravity. What remains is an art of underlying structure, seductive color, and a loose brush. I employ my art as a sort of personal liberation from the demands of architectural drawing, and yet, I never completely lose the disciplines that I have been taught.
Artist Background
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Bachelor of Arts, 1989
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Master of Architecture, 1992
Hear What Collectors Say About Joey's Work
Great news! I not only received a prize at Art in Motion 2014, but I also sold one of my paintings. What a night!!
I am extremely honored to be chosen for Art in Motion 2014, a juried art exhibition and fundraiser for the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, February 6–13, 2014. "James Rondeau, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, The Art Institute of Chicago, selects exhibition participants and awards the most outstanding works submitted by hundreds of artists from around the country." http://www.ric.org/about/people/boards/associate/activities-events/art-in-motion/
Thank you very much for the kind words!
love you ART I think its GREAT, I paint like you