A gif with text reading

'1 833 666 FEAR,' 2017-ongoing. A biannual Halloween radio special exploring the telephone as a device for horror. In collaboration with Mathew Kneebone.

Joanna Rosso

California
Design Fellowship, 2020 - 2021
↗ http://iseedemise.com

Memory
Gender
Fog
A person sitting holding a dog.

Artist Statement

“Joanna Rosso is a wonderful woman. She is 23 years old and is the boss of her own dezining company. Joanna still does not smoke or drink. She helps the poor and her family too. Yes, Joanna is a wonderful woman, smart and funny.”
–Joanna’s Future, elementary school assignment, c.1990.

I am a San Francisco–based designer whose work resides between the realms of art and graphic design. I was born to parents who immigrated from Colombia to Southern California, where I would grow up in the sunny expanse of depopulated streets, crowded shopping malls, and all the other tropes of suburban ennui characteristic of Orange County. This backdrop of consumerism and pop culture combined with a magical realism that resulted in estrangement, which lingers as a strong current throughout my work. I work in print and digital media, self-publishing work that addresses topics surrounding art, girlhood, internet culture/ephemera, and the inversion of power.

While at Headlands

As the Designer in Residence, I hope to contribute to maintaining and expanding upon Headlands visual communication in playful ways, while learning to develop a framework for my own practice. I’m excited to get to know and collaborate with the rich community of artists, writers, and designers taking part in this year’s program from a distance, for now. I would also like to explore publishing (digital and print) as a vehicle for dispersion and community-building.
Gallery
A text booklet with a title reading
'Dangerously in <3,' pt. 1 & 2, 2019-ongoing. A series of publications that explore the noir genre from a feminine perspective. In collaboration with writer Kim Jean.
A large woven textile with text and images hangs in a gallery type space. Diagrams are visible on the wall in the background, and people stand in the space.
Fazed Grunion’s open studios at the Jan Van Eyck Academie, 2017. Fazed Grunion is a design collective researching long-distance collaboration.
A series of silk scarves in multiple colors hang in front of a white wall
Fazed Grunion’s open studios at the Jan Van Eyck Academie, 2017. Fazed Grunion is a design collective researching long-distance collaboration.
hands with tiger stripe nail polish hold a small pamphlet with wavy text reading
Informational handout for 'Take Part,' 2018-19. In collaboration with Mathew Kneebone. Project by artists Bik Van der Pol as part of 'Public Knowledge,' organized by SFMOMA and San Francisco Public Library.
A grey scale image in the background with jagged hand-written text in the foreground reading
An image of a hand reaching out of a box and dialing a number on an old fashioned rotary phone, with a sylized phone number appearing below
'1 833 666 FEAR,' 2017-ongoing. A biannual Halloween radio special exploring the telephone as a device for horror. In collaboration with Mathew Kneebone.