New painter shares distinctive approach to art

In one of her signature caps, Joey Corsentino gets a little squeamish when asked if she is an artist.

“I do and I don’t [think I am an artist] because I don’t have a history of being an artist or a painter,” Corsentino said. “I don’t think like other artists think, and I don’t take the approach as other artists do.”

Corsentino’s art is on display for the first time through Oct. 11 at The Agora Borealis, located at 421 Lake St. in Shreveport. Her open reception, titled “Figuratively Speaking,” was Sept. 25 and marked the first show at The Lounge at The Agora Borealis.

Corsentino, a sales and marketing professional for 15 years, said she never thought about exhibiting her work until causally mentioning to Agora Borealis Owner Katy Larsen she painted.

After Larsen viewed Corsentino’s work, she worked quickly to have it in her store. Corsentino said she is grateful for Larsen and the opportunity to work with her.

More than 60 pieces of Corsentino’s work are on display at her first show.

Her work is full of bold colors, thick lines, textures and unique characters that take up the entire canvas – Corsentino said she hates blank space. She usually paints on canvas or wood but sometimes switches up her art elements by using latex or acrylic paint and even mud to craft texture.

“I like bold,” she said. “I want [the painting] to jump out at you.”

The subjects of her art are strictly animals and women so far. Though she said she doesn’t have a strong opinion about her subjects, Corsentino is drawn to women because of their accessories and clothes.

Not carrying an emotional attachment to her work affects Corsentino’s approach to art.

“I actually take an interior design approach to my artwork. Most artists do not – they paint their moods. I don’t paint around moods,” she said. “I paint what I think would look good in my house, someone else’s house. I want my paintings to be strong enough to carry a room.”

She said she doesn’t want her audience to get wrapped up in an artist statement.

“I will never give you an artist statement that will tell you what I want you to think about my art,” Corsentino said. “I want you to think whatever you want to think. At the end of the day, I want you to like it. I want it to speak for itself.”

Larsen arranged Corsentino’s paintings into three series. Originally, the painter admitted it was difficult to group her art together.

“I don’t want my work to look all alike just because I’m Joey. We all create something that shows our own identity,” Corsentino said. “I want to paint something different than the last one and I want to paint something that is just a little more than the next one.”

Starting off with each canvas, Corsentino said there are initial thoughts that surround her.

“When I buy a canvas, I am actually nervous before I get it because it is a blank canvas. I put this weird pressure on myself that, whatever I did before, the next time it has to be bigger and better,” Corsentino said. “It’s so bizarre that I have to beat the last one.”

It’s part of that perfection that causes Corsentino to hang each painting on her wall and “live with it.” To live with it causes Corsentino to recognize and re-evaluate her work – adding she has changed one painting in the show about 30 times.

“If someone purchases something of mine, I can guarantee this: They got the best I’ve got because I don’t stop. It takes a while,” she said. “[A painting is finished] when there is nothing on it that I would fix and it is to my level of perfection.”

The first painting she sold was to a man cleaning her carpet a few years ago. In this show, already a number of Corsentino’s paintings have sold.

“It gives me hope because I’ve always heard that Shreveport is not an art town,” she said. “I want my art to be seen.”

–Lydia Earhart