ARTIST SHOWCASE: JOE HENRY BAKER
Sister by Studio Ashby is pleased to present Landscape Memory, an exhibition of new work by London-born, Brooklyn-based artist Joe Henry Baker.
Baker is a self-taught abstract artist whose practice explores what a canvas can be—both as an object and as a site for mark-making. With a background in design and interiors, he approaches each work from the ground up: building stretchers, preparing surfaces, and experimenting with tools and materials that sit outside traditional fine art. This process results in works that carry the energy of their making—large gestural movements layered with unexpected textures and structural forms.
In Landscape Memory, Baker considers how images of place are built in the mind. The works move between solidity and openness, echoing the way memory shifts between the precise and the intangible.
Joe Henry Baker (b. 1989, London) lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
Sister: In Landscape Memory, you explore memory and place. How do you translate a fleeting moment or a memory of a horizon into colour and form on the canvas?
Joe: Nature has always been a source of inspiration for me. When I travel I take photographs, write notes and postcards, and reference these when I return to the studio - but I also continually check in on myself when I am in nature, remember to breath deeply and smell! This series utilizes horizon lines throughout, which are abstracted through the dyes meeting and drying. Often times it's after I have made a work that I look back at images and find resemblances to past experiences.
Sister: These pieces sit somewhere between painting and textile, between mark-making and construction. How do you think about the canvas itself - as an object, a surface, or a site?
Joe: My practice is very process driven - I love experimenting and exploring with non traditional art materials in the search of unique results. Having worked previously in design I’ve always wanted to incorporate construction and texture into my works, from simply building my own stretchers and frames, to highlighting the raw canvas itself through the use of dyes. I'm excited to expand my practice beyond standard canvases into objects, sculptures, and to push into the undefined.
Sister: You’ve described these works as “patchwork landscapes.” Is there a particular place or journey that has stayed with you most strongly and found its way into this series?
Joe: I’ve been very lucky to travel to some incredible places over the past few years - three in particular have stuck in my mind and are present in this series. Patagonia, British Columbia and Scotland. These landscapes are prehistoric, monolithic and endless. The colors throughout the day were incredibly inspiring, and by traveling slowly via foot, bicycle and skis, I was able to fully immerse myself and absorb all that these places had to offer.
Sister: How do you decide when a piece feels finished - when the memory has been fully “built” on the canvas?
Joe: Sometimes paintings reveal themselves very quickly! Other times it takes so many layers, or a complete restart. I am not afraid to push my work to breaking point and beyond - it's often in moving beyond these comfort zones that brilliant results are found. I know a work is finished when I feel I have tested myself in it's production, and used instinct and curiosity to drive the mediums. When I think a piece may be finished, I spend time with it - be it in the studio or at home - being present with art reveals new truths and tells you very honestly if it is ready.
Joe Henry Baker's showcase runs until December 2025 at The Blewcoat School.
