Beginning on October 23, 2009 Zane Bennett Contemporary Art, at 435 South Guadalupe Street in Santa Fe, New Mexico will present Sanyassin, an exhibition of new paintings by artist Steve Joy. There will be a reception on Friday, October 23, 2009, from 5-7 pm, and the show continues through November 21, 2009.

Steve Joy, who is originally from England, has lived and worked all over the world, including many years in the Far-East. His current works contain within them a taste of many of the exotic places he has traveled to including: Madagascar, India, the Yucatan, North Africa, to name just a few. Joy’s most recent paintings attempt to express the code of ethics, aesthetics and spirituality that runs throughout the history of humanity. This includes the warrior code of the Samurai, the devotion and loyalty of people such as Saint Francis of Assisi, the great tradition of Russian Orthodox Icon painting, and homage to the sublime, ethereal portraits of Leonardo DaVinci. Joy’s initial impetus for painting came to him through exposure to the works of Barnett Newman and Mark Rothko. His influences from the past include Duccio, Giotto, Velasquez and Matisse. Joy says, “to this day, I remain committed to the idea of spiritual abstraction and to the development of painting and its history from the 15th century to today”. Joy has exhibited his works nationally and internationally. This is his first show at Zane Bennett.

(Image: Steve Joy, Icon (The Miracle of Michael at Chonae), 2009, Mixed Media on Panel, h: 80 x w: 50.5 in; Courtesy of the artist and Zane Bennett Contemporary Art)