Uncreated Light 1980-2008 By Steve Joy

Acclaimed artist, Steve Joy's, latest exhibit at the Joslyn is no short of stunning. Joy is described as "one of the most eloquent practitioners of art as a vehicle for conveying spirituality and the mysteries of the journey for self-understanding" according to the museum's provided information. Joy is an abstractionist that uses his artwork to create feelings rather than depict images. His use of color and geometry dominates the effectiveness of his art. Three paintings in particular stood out to me.
The first one is entitled Prairie Night (1987). The piece was separated into 4 black quadrants, and looked to me like 4 different views from one place in the dark. The top left corner had a faint rectangular image in the upper right hand corner that appeared to be a haystack or similar object in the distance. The top right hand corner had thick, bold white lines painted horizontally suggesting a nearby fence. The bottom left hand corner featured a waning moon-like shape, and the bottom right hand corner had a faint horizontal dark strip suggesting the texture of a crop in the dark. From far away only the left bottom left hand and the top right hand quadrants were visible. This painting made me feel secure and isolated, stars illuminating anything visible.
The next painting is entitled Knife/Rescue (2000). Up close the painting looked like a mutilated finger with gorgeous red 'blood' flowing from the 'finger'. It reminded me that pain is beauty with the incorporation of rich, gold and red tones. After making my rounds in the gallery, I spotted this painting again from about 100 feet away and it looked exactly like the silhouette of a Christian Louboutin shoe, complete with the red bottom. I got really excited and ran up to the painting again, but the 'bloody finger' remained.
My final favorite was a piece called Aquasparta (1998). This piece was separated into 3 panels with square gold or green leaves all on an entrancing aqua background. The aqua color in this piece drew me in like a bug towards neon. I wanted to drink the color, paint it on my body and take it with me.
Steve Joy has two photographs currently hanging in Aromas Coffeehouse at 11th and Jones... if you're lucky you might just find him there sipping a dry cappuccino with his girlfriend and her daughter.
Uncreated Light runs through October 5th 2008.