Humboldt State University First Street Gallery presents, A Joyful Eighty, a large collection of new paintings by artist Joan Gold, which will be on display July 5 through September 7. Gold’s exhibit will occupy both rooms at the gallery, affording visitors a comprehensive experience of the artist’s work at this stage in her eightieth year.

Joan Gold draws from her childhood memories and various life experiences to create layered, vibrant, colorful compositions that elicit joy, balance, harmony, beauty and serenity. She traces her need to create a safe place, a sanctuary, back to the 1940s as she became aware of the larger world, especially the violent impact that the Second World War and the Holocaust had on humanity.  She believes art can steady one’s soul.

The artist states that, “The focus of my work is luminous color. The emotional and spiritual can be made visible in painting in much the same way it is made audible in music. In painting it is light, color and form that make it happen. I use an abstract and minimal format to work with the color and paint application, which are my primary interests. I employ a variety of media but the basis is acrylic paint. Important aspects of my process are underpainting, and glazing with transparent paint layers, both techniques that date from the fifteenth century. A few years ago I started incorporating found materials such as wallpaper and other commercially printed papers into my paintings. Now I make my own printed materials; recent work integrates traditional painting techniques and imagery born of modern technology.

I owe great gratitude to Courtney Cross who assisted me in producing this show. Her careful attention to detail, her talents and intelligence and patience with my foibles have been invaluable. I am going to miss her dearly now as she goes off to further her education as an artist.”

Joan Gold hails from Brooklyn, New York. She began taking art classes in high school and went on to study as a full scholarship student at the The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in Manhattan where she earned her B.F.A. Gold then continued her studies in studio classes at the Brooklyn Museum, which were followed by a fellowship to study painting in Venezuela where she enrolled in the Escuela de Bellas Artes in Caracas. Settling in Caracas, she married and raised her four children while working as an Associate Professor at the Universidad Metropolitana. In 1979 Gold retired from the university and re-settled with her four children on California’s North Coast where she continues to live and work. Her paintings have been exhibited nationally and internationally and are held in numerous public, corporate, and private collections including those of Melinda and Bill Gates and the Morris Graves Museum. 

Joan Gold: A Joyful Eighty is partially funded by a grant from the Humboldt Art Council Beverly Faben Artist Fund and by generous community donors. A reception for the artist will be held at HSU First Street Gallery on Saturday, July 5th from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. during Eureka’s monthly Arts Alive program.  The event is free and open to the public. On Saturday, August 16, Joan Gold will give a gallery talk and tour at 3 p.m. at HSU First Street Gallery. The talk is free and the public is invited to come meet the artist as she guides attendees through exhibition.   The gallery is open Tuesday through Sunday from 12 to 5 p.m. and is located at 422 First Street in Eureka, California.  Admission is free. Those planning group tours are encouraged to call ahead. For more information call 707-443-6363.