Joan Hall’s layered, monumental sculptures address how the climate crisis affects human bodies and bodies of water. Her processes and forms start with handmade paper and evolve organically. Part of the mystique in Hall’s work stems from the fact that she uses dry pigments and paper to create water-like surfaces. Her conceptual thinking is as complex and layered as her hands-on approach. Though her work aligns cancer with invasive marine toxins and plastic pollution, she approaches such dark subject matter through the lens of beauty. Hall’s current solo show at Childs Gallery in Boston caps a series of large, environment-centered works exhibited earlier this year at the Concord Center for the Visual Arts in Concord, Massachusetts, the WaterFire Arts Center in Provincetown, Rhode Island, and the IFPDA Print Fair in New York.
Article written on October 26, 2022 by Jan Garden Castro