Art weeks 2025
Janice Giffen’s work is largely representational, although often quite expressive. It reflects her pleasure in using oils and acrylic – the materiality of the paint, the joy of colour and the visceral effects which can be obtained. She lives in Oxford and has exhibited at OAS Open Exhibitions and at the erstwhile Jam Factory.
Her style has evolved over time – from exploring the use of colour in representational work to more abstract works, again exploring colour and the effects that can be produced by use of impasto and glazing in generating joyful recognition of place and situation. Her abstract landscapes attempt to capture the sense of space and timelessness evoked by places and are a move towards a more expressionist form of abstraction while clearly being recognisable as landscapes. Gestural dark marks provide the structure which is suggestive of land formations, and the oil glazes provide the joy that colour can bring.

Inspiration comes from many places and people – of the latter: Jurek Stajuda for the depth of his glazes and use of colour, Zoe Taylor for her wide sweeps of landscape and evocative colour and texture, and local artists Ella Clocksin and Jane Strother for their inspirational approaches and thoughtful workshops.