Touchstone intern Talia Desai, a University of Pennsylvania student, interviewed Joy Nutt about her piece in the 2024 Iteration Reiteration juried exhibition.
Joy Nutt’s An Alternate Route is a vivid exploration of colors and patterns. The title comes from the initial vision for the piece changing overtime. Nutt painted this piece by placing large sections of color on the canvas and then later painting patterns on top. However, as she painted, she found herself repainting these sections. The artist embraced this evolution and idea that sometimes you have to take “an Alternate Route” in life.
When speaking about the inspiration for the piece, Nutt says, “This particular painting draws inspiration from the crazy quilt tradition in which scraps of leftover fabric are pieced together with simple or embroidery applique techniques. I think of each area of the painting as an opportunity to create a small piece of fabric, so kind of working in reverse of what a quilter would do.”
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Talia Desai: In what order did you paint the patterned sections and borders? Did the borders come first or the sections?
Joy Nutt: I started this painting with large areas of color only. The areas of color determine the sections of patterns. I decide what kind of pattern would look best against the background color and use found objects or traditional painting techniques to create the patterns. The black outline is the last step.
TD: Do the shapes of the borders reference anything in particular?
JN: No. It’s organically determined by the shape of the background colors.
TD: How long did it take to paint this piece? Did your vision of the end product change overtime?
JN: A painting of this size takes anywhere from 3-5 days if I’m working on it periodically. I never know what the end product will be when I start. I let the colors and patterns lead the way. The end product was different from how it started which answers the next question.
TD: How did you come up with the title?
JN: I was not satisfied with how the painting was going. I felt like I was trying to force patterns and colors together and it wasn’t looking cohesive. I painted over most of the canvas and only left a small portion of the original painting. I started over from the beginning of the process by adding areas of colors next to each other and then adding patterns on top. The title comes from the idea that you may start out going in one direction but end up having to take “An Alternate Route” along the way.
TD: Did you have a specific route/place in mind when creating this piece?
JN: No. It’s not based on a real or imaginary place. I was thinking more of how the colors and patterns interact with each other.
TD: How do you feel about being showcased in an exhibition with multiple quilts when you draw inspiration from quilts?
JN: I love it! I think of quilts as a form of fine art. I like how they can be geometric or organic. This particular painting draws inspiration from the crazy quilt tradition in which scraps of leftover fabric are pieced together with simple or embroidery applique techniques. I think of each area of the painting as an opportunity to create a small piece of fabric, so kind of working in reverse of what a quilter would do.
TD: How does the use of repetitive patterns impact your work?
JN: Patterns are essential to the work that I create. I like the challenge of coming up with as many pattern combinations as I can in one painting