The Dress 2

Josie Azuma is a New Orleans abstract artist whose work focuses on acrylic collage. She explores simplifying objects and scenes into their most basic shape and color gradients.

I’m a classically trained painter plus self-taught abstract artist living in New Orleans, Louisiana, with my focus on collage.  I am inspired by the color spectrum of nature, light and darkness, the perfectly paired historic architecture of New Orleans against its tropical organic backdrop, music and lyrics, interior design, and life in general. Collaging for me is a way to take control of my art; it gives me the ability to play around with a composition before committing. I love how putting the pieces together feels like a puzzle, and the process itself is meditative.

My work focuses on abstracting objects into their simplest shapes and color planes, often using color gradients to blend those shapes into a composition. This reflects my personal struggle to live a more simplified, present, and focused life. My process is always searching for harmony and equilibrium without losing the creative edge that unexpected forms and colors can bring, a sense of spontaneity to break up my natural tendency towards perfection.  Tensions create a subtle but rich balance between light and dark, masculine and feminine, geometric and organic.

I graduated college with multiple credits in Fine Art and a minor in Art History. I’m a big believer in the benefits of art education, studio art classes, and group critiques, and I have continued my art education at The New Orleans Academy of Fine Arts, with classes in abstract art, color and design, and collage.