Joan Robey

Joan Robey is another one of those artists who I would classify as abstract, even though she often uses real objects in her sculptures. Often in her pieces, you will find beautiful curves and awkward (in a good way) arrangements of very standard shapes. She enjoys using wood and acrylic paint to create a sort of giant building block feel to her works which give off a sort of childish aura but at the same time are very modern and fancy-looking. Another common feature you will  find in her work is the way she plays with balance and gravity. Often times when she uses real  objects they aren’t put into positions that you would normally see them. In fact there are several of her pieces that look like they are frozen in mid-fall.

"Machine Series: Third Position" Joan Robey

This is a really good example of a piece that has motion without literally having motion. As you can see, the cylinder on the top looks as though it should just roll off which makes the fact that it isn't moving make all the more tension-inducing. I'd also like to point out the quality of the curve that is created by the wooden arc. I think that the choice of items that are included also give the piece a little bit of context which also defines the style of the piece as a whole. Compositionally, the piece is very well-orchestrated. 

"Congruity" Joan Robey

This is another good example of the structures that Joan creates and how they never really seem like they should stay upright. Nevertheless she does a really good job of creating a wonderful composition without sacrificing creativity. I also would like to point out the variation in color and how they all seem to really compliment each other very nicely. There are also small bits of writing on there that I would equate to a sort of graffiti that actually adds a different twist you don't normally see in her works.