Hopeful Understanding

AJ Oishi is a self-taught painter specialising in abstract pointillism. Born in 1971 and a Seattle native, she came to painting after a career in roles requiring organisation and precise analysis, and she brings those skills to her work: measured, controlled techniques that create balanced and meticulous paintings. Rooted in a fascination with colour, geometry and the artistic process, each painting is built from thousands of dots, applied with the eraser end of a pencil. Specific colour combinations and gradations give the work a calm, meditative quality, and the circular forms that recur throughout symbolise individuals and their journey towards a more healthful, conscious life. “Every artist needs a muse. Mine happens to be a dot.”