Jo Nolan, Artist

IN CONVERSATION WITH

 

Jo Nolan,
Artist


Words by TIFFANY JADE
Photos By JAKE RODEN


Jo immerses herself in the natural world with her family and through the practice of bush regeneration.

Jo Nolan grew up in a European family in rural NSW, heeding a call to university and the vibrant diversity of Sydney’s urban landscape when she was 18. Today, Jo lives in Castlecrag straddling the threshold between built and natural landscapes in a way that gently negotiates between the two.

Mirroring the equanimity that defines her sense of place in the world, Jo’s life experiences have shifted between artistic and scholarly pursuits. A pendulum that swings between the practice of visual and performing arts her family were constantly engaged in when she was young, to the lure of academia and a chapter of life that followed the rigour and precision of the law.

Growing up in my family, painting was a part of daily practice, part of the rhythm of life.

It’s been nearly 20 years since Jo set her course in the art world, following a pathway that has seen her assume her place as an established abstract painter who’s works reverberate with an ancient rhythm that finds an accord with the elemental cadence of the natural landscape around her. Her works present washes of watercolour which take on a notion of movement paused, of the moments in between the earth’s myriad cyclical pathways, of the infinite scope of the cosmos manifested through captivating compositions.

Jo’s evolution has placed her in a part of the world that concedes perfectly to the intricacies of her life. From the dense urbanity and diverse cultural expressions of Chatswood’s built environment to the ancient bushland that remains just beyond its borders, a compromise has been reached between the two landscapes which eloquently respond to contemporary living. Through an understanding of the relevance of both, an accord has settled between Chatswood’s cultivated built environment — which leverages convenience and social amenity — and the unadulterated beauty of the native landscape just beyond.

 

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