Bozia Ty’s work draws from her extensive graphic design experience, which she now applies to painting. In what she has termed ‘art design,’ she repurposes the rules of graphic design to create a distinct process-based approach to painting. For each piece, she uses a subtractive procedure in which she pares down a figure to its barest recognizable state. What remains is situated between representation and abstraction–geometric forms that convey the essence of the figure. Despite the minimalism of the compositions, the paintings communicate clearly and precisely through the use of iconic symbols. The works force the viewer to reconsider quotidian creatures as simplified forms.

The painter reimagines these figures with semi-circles, which are representative of her own identity as part artist and part designer. The curved lines of the half-circles are contrasted with the rectilinear shape of the canvas. The curved lines also create a sensuous quality, particularly when combined with the artist’s signature red color.

The semi-circles come alive in the negative space of the painting. In these works, the shape of the white background is equally important to the subject in the foreground. The canvases are punctuated by a red frame which unites the works and re-emphasizes the negative white space of the image. Finally, the canvas is sanded down to eliminate brushstrokes and the artist’s hand. The result is a smooth patina, like a poster, which suggests mechanical or digital reproduction. This connection to the poster, again a reference to graphic design, is also evident in the large-scale size of the works and the portrait orientation.

The idea of duality is also expressed through the iterative variations of the paintings. Many of the works are composed of multiple canvases: in diptychs, triptychs, and series of up to ten. Like the play of graphic design layouts, multiple possibilities for the composition exist and are presented. Often opposites, real or idiosyncratic, are rendered: such as happy and sad or red and black. Even singular canvases have the feeling of multiplicity as they are clearly composed of two halves.

Bozia’s paintings reference art history to combine Cubist figures with a Minimalist sensibility. Her limited but bold matte palette of red, black, and white is influenced by Constructivism. This strict delimitation of color also reinforces the ideas of cleanliness, simplicity, and elegance.

Currently, she is codifying her ideas about art and design alongside reproductions of her paintings in the forthcoming book The Other Half, due out in 2022.