Life System
signed and dated 1978 (lower right & verso)
oil on board
22" x 14" (56 cm x 36 cm)
Accompanied by a certificate issued by Ms. Josefa Joya Baldovinoconfirming the authenticity of this lot



Jose Joya’s Life System is emblematic of the groundbreaking style and variety of abstraction that propelled him to critical and commercial acclaim. Joya created a kind of painting that appeared to be a regrouping of his abstract masses, a retrenchment of the sensibility in favor of order and balance. The autonomous rounded shapes, enough unto themselves as shapes, are founded on uniform flat colors. Such an ordering of details must be held to organized discipline if the abstracted subject is not to be lost in a jumble of incidental attractions. In this piece, Joya’s predominant use of green, red, and orange evoke the naturally occurring hues found in the environment. While the careful placement and structure of Joya’s forms are reminiscent of the nuanced organization of organic matter. But more importantly, Life System directs the viewer towards a much more important aspect of our relationship with the natural world; an innate sense of wonder. Joya’s brand of abstraction allows us to engage and internalize the piece in a way that draws upon our own memories and experiences of the world around us. In doing so, it invites us to interact with it in the same way as basking in a monumental landscape, hiking up the forest trail, or soaking up the sights, sounds, and smells of an enclave; with equal parts, wonder, curiosity, and acceptance that there remain to be bigger things than those that reside within us. (J.D.)