Representing in her paintings whatever feeling her environment transmits to her, Joyce Kamikura has been internationally recognized for her skills and media mastery.
Related articles – Blurring the line between commercial branding and cultural appreciation with Takashi Murakami, An invitation to change perspectives with Yaacov Agam , Hana Almilli: Interweaving nostalgia, culture, and belonging
Born in Steveston, B.C., and raised in Japan, Joyce Kamikura is a highly accomplished Canadian visual artist. In her childhood, she spent the first four years of her life in the internment camp, Lemon Creek, BC, before relocating to Japan. As a teenager, Joyce moved back to Canada, moving first to Montreal for two years before settling in Richmond. Joyce’s entrance into the art world was relatively late, however the degree of her mastery has given her international recognition not only in Canada, but also in the United States and Australia.
A master of media, she is proficient in oils, collage, acrylic, mixed media, and watercolors. Her use of the latter is recognized internationally, and the bright hues are juxtaposed with a transparency in pigment that speaks to her Japanese heritage. The subjects in her paintings range from landscapes and florals to people, and in Joyce’s process of painting, each subject comes forth to elicit a distinct response from within her.
Joyce’s paintings represent her emotional response to her environment in a physical form. On the canvas, Joyce will exaggerate colors, textures, and other elements of the natural world as she transfers them onto the two-dimensional surface of her paintings. Thus, each piece is unique in their placement on the spectrum from representational to abstract depending on how they personally speak to Joyce. The medium and support of her expression vary depending on a combination of her mood and the mood the subject creates in and of itself within her. They both range from soft transparent watercolors to vibrant mixed media on paper; from gentle brush strokes and texture on masonite to bold brush sweeps in oils and acrylics on canvas.
As she states: “It is not so much in the final product, but in the process and struggle to bring all elements together to function in harmonious presentation in a painting that I derive so much satisfaction and pleasure as an artist.”
She has received the honor of being one of the first Canadian artists bestowed the ranking of Signature Member in the National Watercolor Society (NWS – USA) and one of the first women awarded the highest rank of Senior Signature Member in the Federation of Canadian Artists. Her accolades are innumerable, though it is noteworthy that Joyce has been entered many a time into juried exhibitions worldwide and has had her work published in multiple print publications throughout her career in Canada, United States and Australia.
She is represented by Art Works Gallery, a multi-faceted art gallery based in Vancouver, Canada. Passionate about assisting art lovers as well as servicing the corporate, interior design, architecture, and film industries, Art Works specializes in Canadian Art and represents some of British Columbia’s most dynamic artists, in addition to artists from across North America.
Cover image: Joyce Kamikura, Majestic, 2019. Courtesy of Art Works Gallery
Written by: Zara Colombo
Stay Tuned on Kooness Art Magazine for more exciting news from the art world.