‘SURFACES’ by CHRISTIAN JOY
(New York City) – June 3, 2016 - The new body of work “Surfaces” by New York based artist and costume designer Christian Joy will be presented at ‘PONY on the Bowery’ from Friday June 9th - July 3rd, 2016. On view by appointment only on weekdays from 4 - 7 pm.
Opening Reception: Thursday June 9th, 2016 - 6-9 pm PONY on the Bowery - 356 Bowery #4, New York, NY 10012
“Surfaces” is a new excursion into printmaking for the artist. Printmaking is a means Christian Joy uses in both her artistic and costume design practice but only rarely uses on two dimensional medium. In this show Christian will show a mix of prints on canvas created using heat press vinyl as well as traditional screen printing methods. The show will also contain cut out paper collage, a first step in Christian’s printmaking process as well as several three dimensional sculptures.
“In my work I want to give the feeling of crash landing on another planet. You awake confused, unable to read signs or decipher the sound of the language. But almost at once you begin to recognize colors, symbols and shapes. The planet feels less threatening and you are able to navigate your surroundings and begin to understand and feel comfort in your environment.”
As a costume designer Christian Joy is best known for creating the stage attire for Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Brittany Howard of the Alabama Shakes. Since 2003 Christian has been the exclusive designer to Karen O contriving outlandish stage looks that mix paint, print, rhinestones, newspaper, vinyl and found objects. In 2012 Christian acted as costume designer for Karen O’s “Psycho Opera” Stop the Virgens. In 2016 Christian created Brittany Howard’s white gown and cape for the band’s performance at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards as well as two original hand printed looks for Coachella.
In addition to live music performance, Christian has conceived looks for choreographers Anna Sperber, Jillian Peńa and Mariangela Lopez of Accidental Movement for their dance projects. In 2015 Christian Joy collaborated with directors Ioulex to make costumes for their film Today/Yesterday with Isabella Boylston, principal dancer for the American Ballet Theatre.
In 2012 Christian Joy had her first exhibition of original textile and poster prints alongside costumes created for Karen O at the Diesel Gallery in Tokyo for her show Do Androids Dream of Electric Shrimp?
In 2013 Christian Joy had her first non-costume exhibition, Bok Joy at Secret Project Robot in Bushwick, NY where she experimented with creating oversized stuffed sculptures inspired by children’s bop bags and the work of Japanese film director Hayoa Miyazaki. Each character was constructed using brightly colored hand printed fabrics and cut heat press vinyl. The show was seen a second time in 2014 in an expanded version through the Clocktower Gallery for Anxious Spaces: Installation as Catalyst at the Knockdown Center in Brooklyn.
In 2015 Christian was invited to show 10 new costumes at the Walker Art Center during Pop Remix as part of International Pop exhibition.
About Christian Joy: Christian Joy is a costume designer and artist living and working in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Christian’s work is most easily identified by the palette she creates for each piece combining flowing graphic shapes, bright colors, bold prints and playful textures. Christian’s work has been featured at The Walker Art Center in Minneapolis and The Victoria and Albert Museum in London as well as galleries in Tokyo and New York. For more information please visit her website or follow her social media outlets - instagram @christianjoycostumes and twitter @christianisjoy.
About PONY on the Bowery: Founded in 2014 PONY is a work collective offering our walls to artists — young and old, known and unknown. We <3 Art. And sharing it with others. Founders of the work collective are - Studio 55 and The Number 29.