Joanne Riina

Joanne Riina’s collages are visual impressions of landscapes based on realities formed through observations and imagination. Her inspiration comes from all of the nuances and minute details overlooked in people’s daily lives. The somewhat simplistic nature of her work gives it a sense of approachability; however, when looked at closely, the viewer is drawn into a whimsical world made from a blend of painting, drawing, and collage. All of the collaged materials in each work are from the depicted neighborhood, whether they are photographs of buildings or familiar store fronts, drawings based on images, or objects found from the people who live there. Perspective is manipulated to create a visual playground, allowing the eye to move from foreground to background with an inquisitive ease. Her work has been exhibited within the United States and Berlin, Germany.

Riina was born in Westchester County, New York to immigrant parents from a small town outside of Palermo, Italy. Growing up, textiles and raw materials always surrounded her, provided by her mother who was a seamstress and her father a builder. In 1999, she moved to Brooklyn, New York where she attended Pace University to receive a Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education with a concentration in Creative Arts, 2003. During this time, she became interested in bridging her passions of creating art and teaching, which then led her to attend The School of Visual Arts in Manhattan, New York and receive her Masters of Arts Degree in Teaching in Art Education, 2004.

Today, Joanne Riina lives in Manhattan, New York where she is an art teacher at the NYC Lab School, while maintaining her studio practice. Her work continues to grow with a slow evolution of form and media, while always staying true to the influences carried from her unique, Italian family to the brilliant young people she works with on a daily basis.