About Joelle Hunt...

Joelle Hunt was born in 1993 in Houston, Texas. In 2012 she moved to Richmond, VA to go to Virginia Commonwealth University. In 2016 she graduated with a degree in Painting and Printmaking and soon after moved to New Orleans, LA where she resides now. 

Joelle has been drawing and painting most of her life with a heavy emphasis on portraiture, the human form, and concepts of identity.

ARTIST STATEMENT:I have always been interested in representations of the human form. Focusing on family and friends in particular challenges my abilities as a painter because my vision is impacted by my close personal relationships with the models. It is important to me that each piece captures both their likeness as well as their personality, while also speaking to my own perception of their identity. As my practice progresses, I have begun exploring my subjects' relationship to their environment, engaging with their domestic spaces in order to fully express their particular character.

Every piece begins as a collaborative effort between myself and my friends. We begin with a photoshoot, where we work together to create a comfortable, dynamic space that sets the stage for a proper vignette. We typically land on a background full of vibrant color, pattern, and textile. I encourage them to select attire and poses that make them feel most comfortable and confident in the environment - another way to reflect our personal relationship. As an act of care and reflection, I then spend time turning our favorite photographs from the session into paintings, forever entering important people from my world into the beautiful history of portraiture.