By: Laura Moreno
For nearly two decades, Jwan Yosef has honed a distinctive style characterized by “vibrant and introspective works that bridge the realms of identity, culture, and emotion,” as described in the publisher’s description. The quiet power of art is a theme explored in Yosef’s first major monograph “Intimacies,” edited by Matthew Holroyd and Brianna Bakke and published by Baron Books.
What is omitted in his paintings is as important as what is depicted. As the title suggests, it is a very personal book. The 150-page hardback coffee-table book with silver-edged pages can be described as suggestive, homoerotic but not explicit. Rather, it approaches themes of sexuality with a measured tone and understated emotional force.
Jwan Yosef sees painting as a way to “seduce” the viewer by offering a subtle, compelling narrative. Artistically, his approach seeks to tell “as much as possible by presenting as little as possible,” creating works that challenges viewers to engage on a deeper level. It’s a philosophy that permeates the book.
“I want to leave space for the audience to develop their own thoughts and their own fantasies,” he says, demonstrating that the most compelling statements are often the ones left unspoken.
The art mirrors his position as an outsider, caught between vastly different cultures. His perspective may be the ideal point of view for an artist.
Jwan Yosef is a 40-year-old Kurdish-Armenian Syrian-born painter who grew up in Sweden since he was 2 years old. Like many artists, he worked various jobs to support his art on the long road to success. It was not easy. Educated in Stockholm and London, he worked various odd jobs to support himself. This period of struggle included working in a nursing home, which engendered a profound sense of human vulnerability and resilience, themes that appear in his art.
The Architecture of Desire
“Intimacies” is organized into three sections representing his three artistic obsessions: Touch, Object, and Brush.
The “Touch” series delves into the delicate intricacies of seduction, capturing moments of physical connection that are both tender and charged.
“Object” explores various meanings of the word. The series features the three men who impacted the artist’s life most: Syrian dictator Hafez al-Assad, the reason Yosef grew up in Sweden; Yosef’s father Ahmad Yosef; and celebrity icon Rock Hudson, the first famous person diagnosed with AIDS.
“Brush” is the most grounding series in the collection. It is a reminder that these deeply psychological explorations are born from the physical reality of the medium, applying paint to a canvas.
Studio time is akin to a sacred ritual to Yosef. He considers the act of painting a meditative, all-consuming process, a chance to be completely in the moment.
The long journey from refugee to internationally recognized artist represents a continuous negotiation between what is kept and what is left behind. This is most evident in his rendering of skin more as boundary than surface. His technique involves building up layers of paint and then partially removing them so that the skin is both present and removed.
Yosef cites the richly colorful work of German painters Neo Rauch and Gerhard Richter, and Estonian painter/filmmaker Jaan Toomik as his greatest artistic inspirations, but he attributes his motivation primarily to his own personality and obsessive behavior rather than external influences.
In contrast, his own color palette is characteristically limited to very few hues, a restriction Yosef finds comforting. It lends the work a uniform, almost hypnotic quality reinforced by gentle lines, and figures partially cropped out of frame.
Quite early in his career Jwan Yosef co-founded London’s Bomb Factory Art Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to fostering emerging artists. Now based in Los Angeles, he is currently navigating a new chapter of fatherhood as he co-parents with pop icon Ricky Martin.
“Intimacies” by Jwan Yosef, £75, Baron Books
www.baronbooks.co.uk/product-page/pre-order-jwan-yosef-intimacies