Artist Statement
My work creates unexpected moments of precariousness. I use metallic, iridescent, and fluorescent acrylics, textures that lift the paint from the canvas, and a variety of hot glues which add dimensionality to the surfaces. The goal is creating what I call deep patterns, which elicit a Jungian sense of collective knowledges and connections. I seek a reckoning with the artwork as a presence unto itself, and the use of these more “exotic” mediums in concert with natural and UV lights and self-created soundscapes produces a moment of active tension both in person and via digital reproduction. I create work which collapses clear distinctions via aufhebung, the negation of negation: both paint and sculpture, both presence and absence, both expectation and result. Movements out of flat planes create multivalent pieces: sculptural mixed media using canvas or wood as a base for horizontal presentations, painterly mixed media intended to be hung from vertical surfaces, and modular work on multiple substrates which can combine infinitely through the structural use of magnets. The goal is the substantiation of imagination: fooling the eye into seeing things it never imagined could exist, and then going beyond to ask for willing participation in a different way of seeing the world around us, externally and internally.
Recent Public Work
Awards
2022 December Featured Artist, Nua Collective, Dublin, IRE
2022 May Featured Artist, Artios Gallery, New York, NY
2021 Nominated, Best of the Net Anthology, for cover art, by 805 Lit + Art
2021 December Featured Artist, Artios Gallery, New York, NY
2021 November Featured Artist, Gallery House, Palo Alto, CA
Public Installations
2022-2023 7 + 1 = 14,904 Eight-Piece Installation, Midpen Media Center, Palo Alto,
CA
2022 Soil Sample collaborative video and sculpture installation with Shayna Strype,
SVA Chelsea Studios, NYC, NY
2022 4 x 48 = 192 Four-Piece Installation, Midpen Media Center, Palo Alto, CA
2021-2022 Pebbles Installation, Midpen Media Center, Palo Alto, CA
2019-2022 Two Moving Parts Five-Piece Installation, TEAM Lewis, San Diego, CA
Solo Exhibitions
2022 Two Lights, Gallery 1064, Seattle, WA
2021 36 X 36 = 1296, Napa County Library, Napa, CA
2021 Works in Two Lights, Doré Art Collective, Atlanta, GA
2021 To Infinity Beyond and at Home, Victory Point Cafe, Berkeley, CA
2021 Recent Fluorescents & Metallics, Krealyx, Madrid, SP
2020 Recent OpArt & Geometric Work, Napa County Library, Napa, CA
Public Presentations
2022 Hard Edge OpArt: Art Practices, Gallery 2727, Berkeley, CA
2022 Nua Features: Josh Stein, Apple Podcast
2021 Overview, Napa County Library, Napa, CA
2020 Art Practice, Napa County Library, Napa, CA
Duo and Group Exhibitions
2023 MFA Year Two Show, SVA Flatiron Gallery, NYC, NY
2023 East Bay Open Studios, Gallery 2727, Berkeley, CA
2023 Anti-Art, Culturally Arts Collective, Online
2023 Sympoietic Encounters, Gramercy Gallery, NYC, NY
2023 February Works, Gallery 2727, Berkeley, CA
2022 Small Works 2022, ROY G BIV Gallery, Columbus, OH
2022 The Art of Giving Art, Gallery 2727, Berkeley, CA
2022 Cornucopia, Art Works Downtown, San Rafael, CA
2022 Identity in Culture, Culturally Arts Collective, Online
2022 Nua Collective Kickstarter Fine Art Print Box Campaign 2022, Online
2022 Soul Garden II, Gallery 2727, Berkeley, CA
2022 Polysemy, Culturally Arts Collective, Online
2022 Worlds Revealed, Gallery House, Palo Alto, CA
2022 Waking Dreams 2022, Golden Guy Gallery, Burning Man, Blackrock, NV
2022 Open Studios 2022, SVA Chelsea Studios, NYC, NY
2022 Woven Light, Gallery House, Palo Alto, CA
2022 Tropical Art, δε Curated, Online
2022 Broken Mirrors, Culturally Arts Collective, Online
2022 Hue, Msanii HOUS, Carrollton, TX (curated by Dr. Valerie Gillespie)
2022 California Dreaming, Gallery House, Palo Alto, CA
2022 The Art of Earth Day, OxBow Commons Community, Napa, CA
2022 Spring Fever, Gallery House, Palo Alto, CA
2022 The Broadcasting Love, Live Art Show, Stein’s Hollow Gallery, Chula Vista,
CA
2022 Energy, Gallery 1064, Seattle, WA
2022 Spark, Gallery House, Palo Alto, CA
2022 Gallery Opening, The Crucible 716 Art Collective, Buffalo, NY
2022 Art of a Community, Arts Benicia, Benicia, CA
2021 Heroes and Legends, Gallerium.art, Online
2021 Small Works 2021, ROY G BIV Gallery, Columbus, OH
2021 Splendid, Gallery House, Palo Alto, CA
2021 Pure Paint, Arts Benicia, Benicia, CA (curated by Nicholas Wilton)
2021 October, MUSA Exhibitions, Anaviv, Richmond, CA
2021 September, MUSA Exhibitions, Caffe 817, Oakland, CA
2021 9th Annual Coaster Show, Gallery 30 South, Pasadena, CA
2021 Kaleidoscope, Gallery House, Palo Alto, CA
2021 Fragments, Milcon Gallery, Online
2021 The Art of Life, The Little Pink Gallery of Big Ideas, San Antonio, TX
2021 August, MUSA Exhibitions, Hofkuche, Oakland, CA
2021 Some Like It Hot, Gallery House, Palo Alto, CA
2021 Loop, The Art Orb, Denton, TX
2021 Transformation, Connect.Faith, Online
2021 July, MUSA Exhibitions, Hofkuche, Oakland, CA
2021 Going Places, Gallery House Palo Alto, CA
2021 Jewish Authenticity and Identity, Jewish Artists of the National Capital
Region & DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, Washington, DC
(curated by Ori Z. Soltes [catalogue])
2021 Light, CICA Museum, Seoul, SK (catalogue)
2021 Elements, Milcon Gallery, Online
2021 Joy of Living, Krealyx, Madrid, SP
2021 Happy 2021, Krealyx, Madrid, SP
2020 A Lot Can Happen In a Year, d | a | c -- design art concepts, Miami, FL
2020 Reigning Chaos, Sarah J Wilson Art Collective, Chicago, IL
2020 Creative Resilience: Art & Mental Health in the Time of Coronavirus, Fresh
A.I.R Gallery, Columbus, OH
2020 Artistic Creation in Times of Covid-19, Diafano Art, Madrid, SP
2020 8th Annual Coaster Show, Gallery 30 South, Pasadena, CA
2020 Quo Vadis, Van Der Plas Gallery, NYC, NY
2020 An Overwhelming Experience: The Human - Earth Relationship, d | a | c --
design art concepts, Miami, FL
2020 Covid Group Show, Arts Council Napa Valley, Napa, CA
2019 Sanctuary Cities and the Politics of the American Dream, Creative Arts
Workshop, New Haven, CT
2019 Ish Arts and Culture Festival Juried Competition, Ish Festival, Cincinnati, OH
In Print
2023 “Bulwer-Lyton III (Bacon-ed Skull) (UV)” and “Bulwer-Lytton II (Lupus-Toro-Athena
Feline),” faultline Volume 32, Summer 2023
2023 “Bulwer-Lytton II (Lupus-Toro-Athena-Feline)” and “Bulwer-Lyton III (Bacon-ed
Skull),” Ignation Literary Magazine Volume 35.1, Spring 2023
2023 “What Rough Beast” and “Epiphantic Incantation,” Nighthawk Literature Issue 2,
Spring 2023
2023 “Bulwer-Lytton II (Lupus-Toro-Athena-Feline) (UV),” Audience Askew Literary
Journal Volume 2.1, Spring 2023
2023 “Tropical Camo IX (UV),” Reed Magazine Issue 156, Spring 2023
2023 “Pebbles XIII” and “Coiled Pinwheels,” Blood Orange Review Volume 15.1, Spring
2023
2023 Artist Portfolio, Suboart Magazine Issue 2, March 2023
2022 “Roadside Picnic” and “Hooked on Necroplis,” Ugly Duckling Press’s Second
Factory Issue 4, December
2022 “Isinglassed I,” “Tropical Camo V,” and “Pop Matte II,” V0ID Magazine’s
“Junk Mail” Issue, Issue 2, November 2022
2022 “Slamdance the Cosmopolis,” Bombay Gin Issue 47, Summer
2022 “Meet Josh Stein,” Canvas Rebel, May
2022 Artist Portfolio, Artios Gallery’s Extravaganza of Creativity: 2019-2022, May
2022 “Pebbles XIII,” The Ear Issue 25, May
2022 Selections from “Pebbles” series, Modern Renaissance Issue 11, April
2022 “Proximatic Layout,” Salon des Refuse’s Detritus Spring 2022 Issue, April
2022 “Buck Rogers,” Zanna Magazine Issue 11, March
2022 “Ever Green (UV),” Newfound Journal, Volume 13, Issue 1, March
2022 “Caged Trails I,” “Caged Trails II,” “Pop Horizon I,” and “To Defy the Laws of
Tradition,” The Melon Factory Issue 1, March
2022 Portfolio, The Uncoiled Magazine Issue 2, February 6th
2022 “Isinglassed Pulse,” 805 Lit + Art, February 2nd
2022 “Ever Green,” Montana Mouthful’s “Lost and Found” Issue, February 21
2021 Featured Profile, The KNACK Magazine Issue 73, October
2021 “Silent Scream from the Quarantine Days I (It Is What It Is)” and “Silent
Scream from the Quarantine Days II (Trump Lied 180000+ Died),” Maythorn
Magazine, Issue 2, Autumn
2021 “Caged Trails I (Tapework I),” Voleger. Literary Magazine, October
2021 “Foreshocked,” The Healing Muse: A Journal of Literary and Visual Arts,
Volume 21, October
2021 “To Defy The Laws of Tradition,” The Blahck Sheep, September
2021 Featured Artist, Doré Art Collective’s Volume 01, September
2021 Featured Artist, LitStream Magazine’s Summer 2021 Issue, August
2021 “Some Preoccupations of Otherwise Unoccupied Spaces,” Abstract:
Contemporary Expressions, Summer
2021 “Recent Work,” Salt ‘n’ Sauce Magazine Issue 1, Summer
2021 “Hooked on Necropolis,” NonBinary Review’s “Apocalypse” Issue, Summer
2021 Cover Art: “Coming Down on You, Coming Down on Me,” 45th Parallel
Literary Magazine 2021 Issue, Summer
2021 Back Cover: “Don’t Look Back; You Can Never Look Back,” Stonecoast
Review Issue 15, June 1st
2021 Cover Art: “Mosaic I,” 805 Lit + Art’s Love + Pride LGBTQ+ Issue, June 1st
2021 “January and February Work,” Novus Literary and Arts Journal Spring 2021
Issue, May 6th
2021 “Coming Down on You, Coming Down on Me” and “Special Circumstances,”
Apricity Magazine Fifth Edition, Spring
2021 “Desert Bloom I,” “Ever Green,” and “Do the Worm on the Acropolis,”
Salmon Creek Journal 2021, Spring
2021 “Current Work II,” The Showbear Family Circus, April 13th
2021 “Current Work I,” The Showbear Family Circus, April 10th
2021 “Layering It On in Napa, California: Josh Stein,” Bourgeon Online, March
31st
2021 “The Truth Is Out There I” and “The Truth Is Out There II,” Montana
Mouthful’s “Out of This World” Issue, March 15th
2020 “Silent Scream from the Quarantine Days I (It Is What It Is), ”Apero Fine
Art,December
2020 “Silent Scream from the Quarantine Days I (It Is What It Is),” Sheepshead
Review Fall 2020 Issue, December
2020 “Unlocking II,” in “Artists respond to Covid-19: An online gallery from Arts
Council Napa Valley,” Napa Valley Register, October 28th
2020 “Blake's Riffle,” Whitefish Review Issue 25, September
2020 Featured Profile, The KNACK Magazine Issue 62, June
2020 “The Four Elements VII,” Phoebe Journal Issue 49.2, May
2020 “The Four Elements VIII,” Sheepshead Review Spring 2020 Issue, April
2020 Cover and Interior Art: “Blake's Riffle” and “Wrent II,” The Freshwater Review
Volume 23, April
2020 “The Four Elements VIII,” 3Elements Literary Review Issue 26: Spring 2020,
April
2020 Cover art: “‘Camp’ Views I: Texas Border 2019,” Gravitas Poetry Volume 19,
Issue 1, January
2020 “‘Camp’ Views II: Arizona Border 2019,” Wordpeace Volume 5, Issue 1,
Winter/Spring
2020 “Lenticular II,” 3Elements Literary Review Issue 25: Winter 2020, January
2020 Featured Profile, Diáfano Magazine Volume II, Issue 2, January 2020
2020 Selections from the “Camp” AgitProp Series, Riza Press’s Multimedia Poetry
and Art Journal, January
Gallery Representation
Artios Gallery, New York, NY
d | a | c -- design art concepts, Miami, FL
Five 3 Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
Gallery 1064, Seattle, WA
Gallery 2727, Berkeley, CA (Exhibiting Member)
Gallery House, Palo Alto (Exhibiting Member, Treasurer)
Msanii Hous, Carrollton, TX
Nua Visual Arts Collective, Dublin, Ireland
ROY G BIV Gallery, Columbus, OH (Member)
Memberships
Arts Benicia, Benicia, CA
Art Works Downtown, San Rafael, CA
Culturally Arts Collective, Austin, TX, & Washington, D.C.
RAD -- Rail Arts District, Napa, CA
Private Collections
Napa, New York City, Oakland, Palo Alto, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle
ARTIST Biography
Josh Stein (b. 1973, Hammonton, New Jersey; currently residing in Napa, California) is a lifelong multi-mode creative artist, musician, writer, professor with multiple advanced degrees from the University of California and the University of Liverpool, adult beverage maker, and current MFA candidate at School of Visual Arts in New York City. He has more than five hundreds articles in print, including monthly columns and covering a range of cultural and lifestyle issues; his artwork and copy have graced the front and back labels of dozens of releases from a myriad of Northern California wine producers; and his artwork has been nationally and internationally published numerous times and exhibited in a wide range of locations around the world, including the CICA Museum in Seoul, Korea, Adas Israel in Washington DC, Burning Man in Blackrock, Nevada, and Gallery 1064 in Seattle, amongst many others. He has had multiple solo shows in California and Washington states and has participated in numerous duo and group shows nationally and internationally. With formal training in calligraphy, graphic design, and color work; more than two decades as a researcher, teacher, and writer in cultural analysis in the vein of the Birmingham and Frankfurt Schools; and a decade and a half as a commercial artist and designer for multiple winery clients; he brings his influences of Pop art, Tattoo flash and lining techniques, and Abstract Surrealism and Expressionism to the extreme edge where graphic design and calligraphy meet the Platonic theory of forms.
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