Two Lights
224 works
2020–2025
STEINCREATES
Josh Stein
Painting and sculpture in two lights
Metallic and fluorescent acrylics in natural and UV light. Industrial plastics in three dimensions. Art that fools the eye and asks you to see differently.
A BODY OF WORK
The work.
Two-dimensional paintings and three-dimensional sculpture shaped from metallic and fluorescent acrylics and industrial plastics. Enter the larger collections to explore their related series, newest to earliest.
Other paintings
273 works
2019–2026
Sculpture
55 works
2022–2023
The Four Elements
44 works
2019–2026
Wedges
17 works
2021
Pebbles
16 works
2020–2026
Entanglements
14 works
2021–2026
Other series
312 works
2018–2026
Installations
MOCA Humboldt
22 photographs
Eureka, CA · October 2026
Plaza Grill
16 photographs
Arcata, CA · 2026–2027
The Historic Eagle House
22 photographs
Eureka, CA · September 2026
THE ARCHIVE
Earlier work
Illustrations and metallic ink works from the archive, including drawings from the 1990s.
THE ARTIST
Artist statement and biography
By necessity, not choice, I am an American bricoleur shaping whatever arrives. I make art to disrupt perception, provoke attention, and leave residue in a world that overlooks me. Metallic and fluorescent acrylics and industrial plastics stage transformation, elevating discarded matter into illusions that invite participation in seeing differently inwardly.
Josh Stein (b. 1973, Hammonton, New Jersey; lives in Napa, California) is a multidisciplinary artist, musician, writer, winemaker, and professor educated at the University of California, the University of Liverpool, and the School of Visual Arts. His work is widely exhibited and published internationally, spanning painting, sculpture, and graphic abstraction.
BACKGROUND & RECORD
Artist CV
Download the comprehensive artist CV.
Download artist CV (PDF)
Updated October 24, 2026
ART IN PUBLIC
Projects built around giving.
Alongside his studio practice, Stein creates ways for art to circulate beyond traditional galleries.
The Giving Gallery
A free, publicly accessible micro gallery in Eureka, California, founded and maintained by Stein. Original small works, a guestbook and contributions by other artists invite people to participate.
Art Drops
A separate project placing art in public locations for people to discover and take home in Humboldt County.
The Giving Project & Artwork4Another
The Giving Project releases original micro-canvases to strangers, recording each encounter through its place, date and time and the information a receiver chooses to share. Artwork4Another gives art to others.
Spill the Art Tea
Stein hosts and produces Nua Collective’s videocast and podcast, beginning in 2024.
Watch Spill the Art Tea on YouTube · Nua Collective on Instagram
GET IN TOUCH
Let’s talk about the work.
For an artwork enquiry, include the title or artwork number so Josh can identify the piece.