Joan Thorne in her studio, 2024
AT WHAT AGE DID YOU DECIDE TO BECOME AN ARTIST?
I was two years old and saw my father’s surgical atlases on the floor. They made a deep impression on me visually.
HOW DID YOUR PARENTS REACT WHEN YOU TOLD THEM YOU WANTED TO BE AN ARTIST?
My father did not speak to me for five years. He wanted me to be a surgeon and follow in his footsteps.
WHO ARE YOUR FAVORITE ARTISTS?
Vincent van Gogh, Monet, Vermeer, Joan Mitchell, Jackson Pollock, Rembrandt, Willem de Kooning, Kandinsky, and Matisse, among others.
WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE ARTIST WHOSE WORK IS UNLIKE YOUR OWN?
Kazimir Malevich.
ART BOOK YOU CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT?
Concerning the Spiritual in Art by Wassily Kandinsky.
WHAT IS THE QUALITY YOU MOST ADMIRE IN AN ARTIST?
Invention.
DO YOU KEEP A SKETCHBOOK?
Yes.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE MUSEUM IN ALL THE WORLD?
The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
WHAT’S THE BEST EXHIBITION YOU HAVE EVER ATTENDED?
Years ago, a Cézanne exhibition at MoMA.
IF YOU WERE NOT AN ARTIST, WHAT WOULD YOU BE?
Locked up.
Joan Thorne, Hampi, 2013, oil on canvas, 56 x 66 in.
DID YOU HAVE AN ARTISTIC COHORT THAT INFLUENCED YOUR EARLY CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT?
Pete Seeger and Bob Dylan.
WHAT IS ONE THING YOU DIDN’T LEARN IN ART SCHOOL THAT YOU WISH YOU HAD?
Compassion.
WHAT WORK OF ART HAVE YOU LOOKED AT MOST AND WHY?
Sandro Botticelli’s Spring (Primavera). It has a mystical beauty.
WHAT IS YOUR SECRET VISUAL PLEASURE OUTSIDE OF ART?
Watching the sea.
DO YOU LISTEN TO MUSIC IN YOUR STUDIO?
Yes.
WHAT IS THE LAST GALLERY YOU VISITED?
Pace Gallery.
Joan Thorne, Tatua, 2010, oil on canvas, 59 x 49 in.
WHO IS AN UNDERRATED ARTIST PEOPLE SHOULD BE LOOKING AT?
Jack Butler Yeats.
WHAT ART MATERIALS CAN YOU NOT LIVE WITHOUT?
Oil paint.
DO YOU PAINT EVERY DAY?
Yes.
WHAT IS THE LONGEST TIME YOU WENT WITHOUT CREATING ART?
Three months.
WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU ARE FEELING UNINSPIRED?
Sit in front of a painting.
WHAT ARE THE QUESTIONS THAT DRIVE YOUR WORK?
Intuition drives my work.
WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT QUALITY IN AN ARTIST?
Steadfastness.
WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU HAVEN’T YET ACHIEVED IN ART?
To show what it is I have achieved.
WHAT IS THE BEST THING ABOUT ART IN THE ERA OF SOCIAL MEDIA?
It can ground us.
JOAN THORNE (@joan_thorne) will be teaching the four-day workshop Diary Still Life Painting with an Emphasis on the Dutch Masters, February 16–19, 2024, at the Art Students League of New York.
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