Joanne Sonnier – portfolio

Contact the artist

artvansonnier(at)gmail.com

Exhibition information

Her recent work centres on the concept of collections, examining the objects we gather to adorn our homes and express aspects of identity. Alongside this, she sources items from charity shops, considering what is left behind and how these remnants reflect shifting values, taste, and personal histories. Drawing inspiration from time spent at the Ashmolean Museum, she explores systems of classification and display, investigating associations between shape, colour, pattern, and numerical ordering. These paintings often become metaphors for human traits and relationships, inviting reflection on how such classifications permeate everyday life—from body types to social connections. Colour and pattern play a central role in her work, functioning as tools to elevate the ordinary and transform the mundane. Through an emerging interest in maximalism, she celebrates visual abundance and the emotional resonance of ornamentation.

 

Artist information

I am an artist and educator based in the Abingdon area. I teach Art at a local secondary school and maintain an active painting practice. During my Fine Art degree I specialised in painting, photography and printmaking, gradually focusing on figurative art works in oil. Having spent many years as a full time Head of Art, I now have a happy balance between part time teaching and my own practice, which is constantly evolving.