Sculpting Form into Movement: The Art of Jan Hoy
- SJIMA
- Nov 2
- 2 min read
On view in the North Gallery at SJIMA through December 1, 2025
With elegant restraint and quiet strength, sculptor Jan Hoy distills years of inquiry into refined, abstract forms that seem to move while standing still. Her exhibition, Complex Simplicity, now on view in the North Gallery at the San Juan Islands Museum of Art (SJIMA), invites visitors to slow down and contemplate the harmony between balance and motion, fullness and void.
Hoy’s work is rooted in a lifelong fascination with structure and space. Each sculpture begins as a question—an exploration of how forms intersect, resolve, or curve back upon themselves. “Each piece is a three-dimensional answer to a question,” she explains.
“My favorite forms are a single shape that has nothing extra, no adornment, no secondary forms, no distracting color or surface pattern.”
Shaped primarily in clay with an iron-oxide finish, and sometimes in steel or bronze, Hoy’s sculptures bear the mark of both material honesty and patient craftsmanship. The muted tones of the Pacific Northwest—its silvery skies, forest greens, and earth browns—permeate her aesthetic sensibility, influencing the quiet, contemplative character of her work. Some pieces, such as Continuity and Intersection, emerged after years of mulling and sketching, as the artist searched for just the right resolution to the spatial questions she posed to herself.
About the Artist
Jan Hoy earned her BFA from the University of Washington and has been featured in numerous exhibitions across the West Coast, including the Museum of Northwest Art (La Conner) and the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, where her work is also held in the permanent collection. Her public sculptures appear throughout the region—from Anacortes and Langley to San Francisco and Walla Walla—through programs such as Gallery Without Walls and ArtsWA’s Art in Public Places roster.
Hoy continues to work from her Pacific Northwest studio, creating both intimate clay forms and large-scale bronze and steel sculptures that reinterpret earlier works in new materials and contexts.
Artist Talk: An Evening with Jan Hoy
Wednesday, November 12 | 6 – 7 PM📍 San Juan Islands Museum of Art
Please join us for a special free artist talk with Jan Hoy at SJIMA on Wednesday, November 12, 6–7 pm. Learn about her journey as an artist and the process behind the sculptures featured in Complex Simplicity. Hoy welcomes audience questions and looks forward to engaging in conversation about form, movement, and the creative process.
👉 View the event description here or by clicking on the image below.
Plan Your Visit
Explore Complex Simplicity and other exhibitions at SJIMA, open Friday – Monday, 11 AM – 5 PM. Discover how Jan Hoy transforms simple questions into sculptural poetry—works that embody the beauty of balance and the eloquence of restraint.
SPONSORS:
Honeywell Foundation, Torrance Foundation, Apex Foundation, Town of Friday Harbor, and San Juan County
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