Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 15

Joanne Mattera
Silk Road 278, Bright Crimson Red Square Encaustic Color Field Painting

2015

About the Item

This is a vibrant, crimson red encaustic (pigmented beeswax) painting on birch panel with dark burgundy and light, golden orange accents. Signed, titled and dated on verso. Joanne Mattera’s paintings can be described as lush minimalism, the work is chromatically rich and compositionally reductive. Each painting in the ongoing Silk Road series is a small color field achieved by layers of translucent wax paint applied at right angles. The series, began in 2005, was inspired by the iridescent hues of slubbed silk, hence the title, but very quickly evolved into a more expansive exploration of color. In plying the richness of the encaustic paint against the austerity of a very subtle grid the artist sets in motion a dynamic in which color and texture jostle for primacy. A decade and almost 300 paintings later, the artist is still enthralled with this exploration. Mattera is the foremost expert in the field of encaustic painting and is the founder and former director of the International Encaustic Conference. Her artwork is in the collections of The New Britain Museum of Contemporary Art, US Embassies (Slovenia and Poland), US State Department, Bank of America, and Norwegian Cruise Lines, to name a few as well as numerous private collections. Mattera writes a contemporary art blog, she is a frequent guest speaker and curator and is a member of American Abstract Artists (NYC). The artist lives and works in MA and in NYC. Encaustic painting, also known as hot wax painting, involves using heated beeswax to which colored pigments are added. The word comes originally from the Greek word “enkaustikis” meaning to “burn in” and the process dates back to the 5th Century. The liquid or paste is applied to a surface—usually prepared wood. Metal tools and special brushes can be used to shape the paint before it cools, or heated metal tools can be used to manipulate the wax once it has cooled onto the surface. Because wax is used as the pigment binder, encaustics can be sculpted as well as painted. Other materials can be encased or collaged into the surface, or layered, using the encaustic medium and heat to fuse them to the surface. This work is part of a large ongoing series.
  • Creator:
    Joanne Mattera (1948, American)
  • Creation Year:
    2015
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 12 in (30.48 cm)Width: 12 in (30.48 cm)Depth: 1.38 in (3.51 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Kent, CT
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU1979873372

More From This Seller

View All
Rest Stop In Blue, Children Riding Animal, Crib, Trees
By Cecile Chong
Located in Kent, CT
A peaceful landscape scene is set in shades of blue with pale ivory in this encaustic (pigmented beeswax) painting with oil, pigments from Morocco and India, volcanic ash from Ecuado...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Mixed Media, Encaustic, Panel

Captive Audience, Oval Landscape, Child, Giraffe, Tree, Blue, Light Yellow
By Cecile Chong
Located in Kent, CT
A peaceful landscape scene is set in shades of blue with pale yellow and ivory in this oval encaustic (pigmented beeswax) painting with oil, pigments from Morocco and India, volcanic...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Mixed Media, Encaustic, Panel

Silk Road 414 - Contemporary Teal Blue Encaustic Wax Painting, 2018
By Joanne Mattera
Located in Kent, CT
Contemporary encaustic (pigmented beeswax) painting on birch panel in bright, vibrant teal blue with bright blue edges. Signed and titled on the verso. Joanne Mattera’s paintings ca...
Category

2010s Contemporary Paintings

Materials

Encaustic, Panel

Making Room - Encaustic Landscape Figure Child Table Still Life Tree, 2016
By Cecile Chong
Located in Kent, CT
In this contemporary encaustic (pigmented beeswax) painting on panel, a peaceful landscape scene in shades of pale sky blue and light yellow accented with teal blue sculptural detail...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Mixed Media, Encaustic, Panel

Open Seating - Encaustic Landscape Figures Mother and Child Blue Yellow, 2015
By Cecile Chong
Located in Kent, CT
In this contemporary encaustic (pigmented beeswax) painting on panel, a peaceful landscape scene in shades of pale blue, canary yellow, light orange, and pale maroon red is accented ...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Mixed Media, Encaustic, Panel

Self Service - Child Female Figure Table Trees Sky Blue Green Yellow Oval, 2021
By Cecile Chong
Located in Kent, CT
A peaceful landscape scene is set in shades of atmospheric sky blue with pale yellow and ivory accented with sculptural elements along the bottom in green and ochre in this contempor...
Category

2010s Contemporary Landscape Paintings

Materials

Mixed Media, Encaustic, Panel

You May Also Like

November Light (Encaustic Landscape of Forest at Late Autumn by Regina Quinn)
By Regina Quinn
Located in Hudson, NY
Encaustic, abstracted landscape of a country farm field with autumn foliage "November Light" made in 2024 by Regina Quinn encaustic and oil with wax on panel 12 x 9 inches unframed ...
Category

2010s Contemporary Landscape Paintings

Materials

Wax, Encaustic, Oil, Panel

"She's Not There" I - Abstracted Landscape
By Lauren Ohlgren
Located in Soquel, CA
Layered and complex abstracted landscape by Lauren Ohlgren (American, b. 1959). At the base layer, this piece is an abstracted landscape, with saturate purple and green trees. Sketches of fruit, leaves, and cross hatching are layered on top, with a final layer of white color pencil highlights. Signed "Lauren S Olgren" in the lower right corner. Signed, titled, and dated on verso. No frame. Lauren Ohlgren (American, b. 1959) began her art career in the mid 1990’s making hand-painted silk and art-to-wear. She then began to work in encaustics, and later incorporated various mixed media into her artwork. Ohlgren was the curator of Journal 365, A Page A Day community project in 2015 and The She Project, 2005-2013. Ohlgren is also the author of 2005 award winning book, The She Project; How ‘She’ Inspired a Community. Exhibitions and Instruction: 1999 - “Rags 99 Wearable Art Show”, Tacoma, Washington 2005 - Red Horse Coffee, Albany, Oregon 2010 - Giustina Gallery, Corvallis, Oregon 2011 - The Teal Artists Co-Op, Corvallis, Oregon 2018 - The Art Center, Corvallis, Oregon 2019 - Philomath Open Studios Instructor, Sitka Center for Art and Ecology Instructor, Linn Benton Community College Instructor, Portland Urban Sketchers...
Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Landscape Paintings

Materials

Wax, Encaustic, Wood Panel, Color Pencil

Silver and Gold (Abstract Landscape in Blue & Yellow Encaustic by Regina Quinn)
By Regina Quinn
Located in Hudson, NY
Silver and Gold (Abstract Landscape of Winter Forest in Blue & Yellow Encaustic) by Regina Quinn 2024 encaustic, India ink, and oil with wax on panel 6 x 6 unframed / 8 x 8 framed "...
Category

2010s Contemporary Landscape Paintings

Materials

India Ink, Encaustic, Oil, Panel

Animal Painting #09-6574 (deer)
By Les Thomas
Located in Bozeman, MT
Les Thomas has long recognized painting as a language in its own right, and its diversity in terms of poetic and conceptual messages, exhibited by each individual picture. Les Thoma...
Category

2010s Contemporary Animal Paintings

Materials

Encaustic, Oil, Panel

Animal Painting #10-6707 (Caribou)
By Les Thomas
Located in Bozeman, MT
Les Thomas has long recognized painting as a language in its own right, and its diversity in terms of poetic and conceptual messages, exhibited by each individual picture. Les Thoma...
Category

2010s Contemporary Animal Paintings

Materials

Encaustic, Oil, Panel

Animal Painting 0120709 (Moose)
By Les Thomas
Located in Bozeman, MT
Les Thomas has long recognized painting as a language in its own right, and its diversity in terms of poetic and conceptual messages, exhibited by each individual picture. Les Thoma...
Category

2010s Contemporary Animal Paintings

Materials

Encaustic, Oil, Panel

Recently Viewed

View All