Although New York is home, Avillez makes frequent trips to Portugal to visit family. In this series of diaristic watercolour and ink drawings set in Lisbon, Avillez illustrates a fish market, clothing drying on a line, a couple walking their dog on a cobblestone street, and other tableaus that capture the intimacy and obscurity of a home away from home. Avillez invites us to share in her unique process, leaving layered paper, cut outs, and handwritten notes. Inviting us, as it were, to live for a moment in the warm sun, against the backdrop of the azulejos.
Joana Avillez, b. 1986, New York, received a BFA in painting from The Rhode Island School of Design, and an MFA in illustration at School of Visual Arts. She is the author of Life Dressing and illustrated Not That Kind of Girl by Lena Dunham. Her illustrations can be found in The New York Times, Vogue, New York Magazine, Cosmopolitan, Refinery29, Paper Magazine, and more.
Sep 27th 2016