David Joseph is a Chicago based painter and pastel artist.
I studied chemistry and art at the University of Pittsburgh and studio arts at the Art Institute of Chicago. My freshman art teacher in high school is responsible for sparking my preliminary interest in art. She was explaining to the class that what we actually see and how we put it on the paper is usually different. She started to draw and explain the anatomy of an eye, how the eyelashes actually grow out of a ledge between the eyeball and our skin. I felt like I had just been awakened.
From that point until I turned 30, my work was all charcoal, pastel and pencil drawings based on the human figure, getting more expressionist as I got older. At this point I started studying at the Art Institute of Chicago. During this period I started painting in oil as well as drawing. This was also when my work moved away from the figure and became abstract.
Every painting and drawing is a journey. When I create something realistic, the map to getting to the finished piece is a much easier route. If I'm working abstractly, the road is very windy.
My source materials are natural forms and once I render them on the surface, I begin to break them apart and then pull the composition back together again. This can happen several times with each piece. I create as I go and never know the end result until I reach there myself. My goal is to finish with a cohesive blend of color and movement. The shapes speak of flora and fauna as well as references of human anatomy. I try to create something that is both familiar and alien, peaceful and provocative.
Recently, another door opened for me. In 2006 and 2007, I curated the group exhibitions for Greenleaf Art Center, where I have my studio, and in June 2007 I took on the same role with the now defunct Gay and Lesbian Artist Network of Chicago (GLANCe). Since 2007, I have been the curator for the galleries at Center on Halsted.
I studied chemistry and art at the University of Pittsburgh and studio arts at the Art Institute of Chicago. My freshman art teacher in high school is responsible for sparking my preliminary interest in art. She was explaining to the class that what we actually see and how we put it on the paper is usually different. She started to draw and explain the anatomy of an eye, how the eyelashes actually grow out of a ledge between the eyeball and our skin. I felt like I had just been awakened.
From that point until I turned 30, my work was all charcoal, pastel and pencil drawings based on the human figure, getting more expressionist as I got older. At this point I started studying at the Art Institute of Chicago. During this period I started painting in oil as well as drawing. This was also when my work moved away from the figure and became abstract.
Every painting and drawing is a journey. When I create something realistic, the map to getting to the finished piece is a much easier route. If I'm working abstractly, the road is very windy.
My source materials are natural forms and once I render them on the surface, I begin to break them apart and then pull the composition back together again. This can happen several times with each piece. I create as I go and never know the end result until I reach there myself. My goal is to finish with a cohesive blend of color and movement. The shapes speak of flora and fauna as well as references of human anatomy. I try to create something that is both familiar and alien, peaceful and provocative.
Recently, another door opened for me. In 2006 and 2007, I curated the group exhibitions for Greenleaf Art Center, where I have my studio, and in June 2007 I took on the same role with the now defunct Gay and Lesbian Artist Network of Chicago (GLANCe). Since 2007, I have been the curator for the galleries at Center on Halsted.
