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
2024 March Featured Artist, Nua Collective, Dublin, IRL
2022 December Featured Artist, Nua Collective, Dublin, IRL
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 & Community Projects
2023 Are You An Art Sucker? – 100-participant scavenger hunt, NYC, NY
2023 14th Annual Nimbus Arts Nimbash Auction, St. Helena, CA
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
Long-Term Projects
2024-Current Spilling the Art Tea Podcast – Youtube, iTunes, etc.
2022-Current TheGivingProject.art – Vast array of micro-canvases, East and West Coasts, United States
2022-Current Nua Collective’s Blackout International Tour – multiple European and United States galleries
Curatorial Projects
2022-Current Gallery 2727, Berkeley, CA
2020-2022 Gallery House, Palo Alto, CA
Solo Exhibitions
2024 Two Lights Goes Pop!, Pop and Contemporary Art Museum, Tallinn, EST
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
2024 Choosing Addition: The Giving Project, School of Visual Arts, NYC, NY
2023 Plastics, Voss Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2023 Forced Chaos: New Manipulative Techniques with High-Flow Acrylics, School of Visual Art, NYC, NY
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
2024 Evidence of Things Unseen, The Invisible Dog, Brooklyn, NY
2024 Nua Blackout, Ely Center, New Haven, CT
2024 Nua Blackout, Platform Arts, Belfast, NIL
2024 The Secret Garden, Gallery 2727, Berkeley, CA
2024 Nua Blackout, Dr. Billy Colfer Gallery, Wexford, IRL
2024 Nua Blackout, Vent Space, Tallinn, EST
2023 Winter Sun, Gallery 2727, Berkeley, CA
2023 Nua Blackout, Jelgava Old Town House, Jelgava, LTV
2023 Lost & Found, Gallery 2727, Berkeley, CA
2023 East Bay Open Studios, Gallery 2727, Berkeley, CA 2023
Refusés of the Bay, Voss Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2023 Elemental, Gallery 2727, Berkeley, CA
2023 Portal, Nua Collective, Dublin, IRL
2023 Introductions, Gallery 2727, Berkeley, CA
2023 New Ways of Doing Things, 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
Articles
2024 “Meet Josh Stein,” Canvas Rebel, August 2024
2023 “Josh Stein,” Nua Collective’s “Portal” Coffee Table Art Book, June 2023
2023 Artist Portfolio, Suboart Magazine Issue 2, March 2023
2022 “Meet Josh Stein,” Canvas Rebel, May 2022
2021 Featured Profile, The KNACK Magazine Issue 73, October 2021
2021 “Layering It On in Napa, California: Josh Stein,” Bourgeon Online, March 31st, 2021
2020 “Unlocking II,” in “Artists respond to Covid-19: An online gallery from Arts Council Napa Valley,” Napa Valley Register, October 28th, 2020
2020 Featured Profile, Diáfano Magazine Volume II, Issue 2, January 2020
In Print
2024 “Line Drawn,” Untenured, Volume 2.4, Fall 2024
2024 “Wave for Robbie,” Quibble Quarterly’s “Ripple” Volume I, March 22nd, 2024
2024 “Six to Make Almost Two,” Catalogue of Failures Issue 4, February 2024
2024 “Colloidal LES 6AM,” ASP Bulletin, Issue 8, February 2024
2023 “What Rough Beast (UV)” and “Sacrificial Sacrament (UV),” LEVITATE Issue 7, Fall 2023
2023 “What Rough Beast,” Blue Mesa Review Issue 47, Fall 2023
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
2022 “Roadside Picnic” and “Hooked on Necroplis,” Ugly Duckling Press’s Second Factory Issue 4, December 2022
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
2022 Artist Portfolio, Artios Gallery’s Extravaganza of Creativity: 2019-2022, May 2022
2022 “Pebbles XIII,” The Ear Issue 25, May 2022
2022 Selections from “Pebbles” series, Modern Renaissance Issue 11, April 2022
2022 “Proximatic Layout,” Salon des Refuse’s Detritus Spring 2022 Issue, April 2022
2022 “Buck Rogers,” Zanna Magazine Issue 11, March 2022
2022 “Ever Green (UV),” Newfound Journal, Volume 13, Issue 1, March 2022
2022 “Caged Trails I,” “Caged Trails II,” “Pop Horizon I,” and “To Defy the Laws of Tradition,” The Melon Factory Issue 1, March 2022
2022 Portfolio, The Uncoiled Magazine Issue 2, February 6th, 2022
2022 “Isinglassed Pulse,” 805 Lit + Art, February 2nd, 2022
2022 “Ever Green,” Montana Mouthful’s “Lost and Found” Issue, February 21, 2022
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
2021 “Caged Trails I (Tapework I),” Voleger. Literary Magazine, October 2021
2021 “Foreshocked,” The Healing Muse: A Journal of Literary and Visual Arts, Volume 21, October 2021
2021 “To Defy The Laws of Tradition,” The Blahck Sheep, September 2021
2021 Featured Artist, Doré Art Collective’s Volume 01, September 2021
2021 Featured Artist, LitStream Magazine’s Summer 2021 Issue, August 2021
2021 “Some Preoccupations of Otherwise Unoccupied Spaces,” Abstract: Contemporary Expressions, Summer 2021
2021 “Recent Work,” Salt ‘n’ Sauce Magazine Issue 1, Summer 2021
2021 “Hooked on Necropolis,” NonBinary Review’s “Apocalypse” Issue, Summer 2021
2021 Cover Art: “Coming Down on You, Coming Down on Me,” 45th Parallel Literary Magazine 2021 Issue, Summer 2021
2021 Back Cover: “Don’t Look Back; You Can Never Look Back,” Stonecoast Review Issue 15, June 1st, 2021
2021 Cover Art: “Mosaic I,” 805 Lit + Art’s Love + Pride LGBTQ+ Issue, June 1st, 2021
2021 “January and February Work,” Novus Literary and Arts Journal Spring 2021 Issue, May 6th, 2021
2021 “Coming Down on You, Coming Down on Me” and “Special Circumstances,” Apricity Magazine Fifth Edition, Spring 2021
2021 “Desert Bloom I,” “Ever Green,” and “Do the Worm on the Acropolis,” Salmon Creek Journal 2021, Spring 2021
2021 “Current Work II,” The Showbear Family Circus, April 13th, 2021
2021 “Current Work I,” The Showbear Family Circus, April 10th, 2021
2021 “The Truth Is Out There I” and “The Truth Is Out There II,” Montana Mouthful’s “Out of This World” Issue, March 15th, 2021
2020 “Silent Scream from the Quarantine Days I (It Is What It Is), ”Apero Fine Art, December 2020
2020 “Silent Scream from the Quarantine Days I (It Is What It Is),” Sheepshead Review Fall 2020 Issue, December 2020
2020 “Unlocking II,” in “Artists respond to Covid-19: An online gallery from Arts Council Napa Valley,” Napa Valley Register, October 28th, 2020
2020 “Blake's Riffle,” Whitefish Review Issue 25, September 2020
2020 Featured Profile, The KNACK Magazine Issue 62, June 2020
2020 “The Four Elements VII,” Phoebe Journal Issue 49.2, May 2020
2020 “The Four Elements VIII,” Sheepshead Review Spring 2020 Issue, April 2020
2020 Cover and Interior Art: “Blake's Riffle” and “Wrent II,” The Freshwater Review Volume 23, April 2020
2020 “The Four Elements VIII,” 3Elements Literary Review Issue 26: Spring 2020, April 2020
2020 Cover art: “‘Camp’ Views I: Texas Border 2019,” Gravitas Poetry Volume 19, Issue 1, January 2020
2020 “‘Camp’ Views II: Arizona Border 2019,” Wordpeace Volume 5, Issue 1, Winter/Spring 2020
2020 “Lenticular II,” 3Elements Literary Review Issue 25: Winter 2020, January 2020
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 2020
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, St. Helena, Tallinn, Yountville
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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