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OverviewJoseph Ostraff's paintings evoke the varied shapes and motifs of human activity and geography. Using subtle color gradations and rich patterning, Ostraff creates works with startling compositional depth. While choices found in these paintings suggest a personal sense of value, more generally these decisions reflect the processes people use to make sense of the commonplace. His work is a visual documentation of the things that convert spaces into places.
A three-time recipient of the prestigious Fellowship Award from the Utah Arts Council, last year Joseph Ostraff was also voted one of Utah's 15 most influential artists by a panel of his peers. Ostraff was born in Santa Monica, California in 1957, later earning an MFA from the University of Washington, Seattle in 1984, and is now a professor at Brigham Young University. The collaborative efforts he's organized have involved hundreds of artists around the globe and have culminated in more than 30 exhibitions both domestically and abroad. -
Works
Joseph Ostraff
Lofoten.Norway .1oil + acrylic on panel30 x 60 inches (diptych)Copyright The ArtistBiography"I see the collections of shapes and layers of paint as a form of mapping as I too attempt to secure my place in the human geography." - Joseph Ostraff
Joseph Ostraff's paintings evoke the varied shapes and motifs of human activity and geography. Using subtle color gradations and rich patterning, Ostraff creates works with startling compositional depth. While choices found in these paintings suggest a personal sense of value, more generally these decisions reflect the processes people use to make sense of the commonplace. His work is a visual documentation of the things that convert spaces into places.
A three-time recipient of the prestigious Fellowship Award from the Utah Arts Council, last year Joseph Ostraff was also voted one of Utah's 15 most influential artists by a panel of his peers. Ostraff was born in Santa Monica, California in 1957, later earning an MFA from the University of Washington, Seattle in 1984, and is now a professor at Brigham Young University. The collaborative efforts he's organized have involved hundreds of artists around the globe and have culminated in more than 30 exhibitions both domestically and abroad.
Joseph Ostraff's paintings, book arts, and films have shown nationally and internationally in solo and group exhibitions in museums, universities, and institutions, among them: The Peace Factory, Tel Aviv, Israel; the Ballinglen Arts Foundation Museum of Art, Ballycastle, Co Mayo, IRE; Robert B. Haas Family Arts Library at Yale University Library, Yale University, CT; Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts & Sciences, Loveladies, NJ; Springville Museum of Art, Springville, UT; Site: Brooklyn, Brooklyn, NY; The Center for Contemporary Art, Bedminster, NJ; NorthArt Center, Northcote, Auckland, NZ; The Leonardo, Salt Lake City, UT; Galerie du Centre, Paris, France; Susan B Anthony Birthplace Museum, Adams, MA; Museum of Art, Brigham Young University, UT; Cape Cod Museum of Art, Dennis, MA; Attleboro Arts Museum, Attleboro, MA; Limerick School of Art & Design, Limerick, Ireland; Harry Wood Gallery, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ; Art Space Chester, Chester University, UK; Ballinglen Arts Foundation Art Gallery, Ballycastle, County Mayo, Ireland; The Peoria Art Guild, Peoria, IL; Jacksonville Center for the Arts, Floyd, VA; University of Hawaii, Visual Art Department, Commons Gallery, Hilo, HI; Granary Art Center, Ephraim, UT; Harwood Art Center, Albuquerque, NM; University of Central Lancashire, UK; NAU Art Museum, Flagstaff, AZ; Wirral Met Gallery, Birkenhead, England; Minneapolis Center for Book Arts, Minneapolis, MN; Torpedo Factory Art Center, Alexandria, VA; South Shore Art Center, Cohasset, MA; Williamson Art Gallery Birkenhead, Wirral Metropolitan College, UK; Spectrum Project Space at Edith Cowan University, Perth, Australia; and the Sheffield Institute of Arts Gallery, Sheffield Hallam University, UK.Exhibitions-
Santa Fe | Willy Bo Richardson + Joseph Ostraff
Confluence 3 - 26 May 2024“Confluence: The Artistic Dialogues of Richardson and Ostraff” is a study in contrasts and commonalities. Ostraff constructs his narrative landscapes with an eye towards the tangible layers of history and memory, while Richardson strips down to the fundamental experience of color and its temporal resonance. Together, they present a comprehensive exploration of abstract art's capacity to encapsulate and communicate complex human emotions and stories.Read more -
Grand Opening | Nüart Gallery | Santa Monica | "In Principio"
2 - 30 Mar 2024Nüart Gallery proudly announces its inaugural exhibition at their newest outpost located at Bergamot Station in Santa Monica with a group show of select paintings. The exhibition will run from...Read more -
Winter Selections | 2024
A Group Exhibition 12 - 28 Jan 2024Nüart Gallery is pleased to present Winter Selections, our annual exhibition featuring a curation of our artists whose abstract and figurative work celebrate a constrained winter palette. The exhibition will open on January 12th and through January 28th, 2024.Read more -
Winter Selections
A Group Exhibition 20 Jan - 5 Feb 2023We’re excited to share our annual exhibition Winter Selections, featuring a curation of our artists whose abstract and figurative work celebrate a constrained winter palette . The minimalist environment of...Read more -
Erin Cone + Joseph Ostraff
Liminal 20 May - 5 Jun 2022Nüart Gallery is presents Liminal, featuringnew works by Erin Cone & Joseph Ostraff. Known for her meticulously-composed realism, Erin Cone distills the emotion of traditional figurative painting into abstracted compositions,...Read more -
Red Show
The Color of Love 11 - 25 Feb 2022A selection of works by our artists, reflecting their interpretations of one of the most celebrated human emotions – love. We invite you to join us in celebrating one of the most powerful colors of the spectrum.Read more -
Winter Selections
A Group Exhibition 24 Jan - 6 Feb 2022Nüart Gallery is pleased to present Winter Selections, an exhibition featuring a curation of our artists whose abstract and figurative work celebrate a constrained winter palette. The minimalist environment of...Read more -
Nüart 20th Anniversary Show
24 Dec 2021 - 9 Jan 2022Nüart Gallery 20th Anniversary Show (SANTA FE, NM) Nüart Gallery is pleased to celebrate its 20th year of offering fine art with a special group exhibition of 36 established and...Read more -
Abstractions 2021
19 Nov - 12 Dec 2021Featuring Work by Beverly Kedzior, Emilio Lobato, Joseph Ostraff, Willy Bo Richardson + Judy WoodsRead more -
Winter Inspirations
A Group Exhibition 29 Jan - 7 Feb 2021Nüart Gallery presents Winter Inspirations, a group exhibition of paintings by Nüart Gallery artists. The exhibition will run January 29th through February 7th, 2020. We're celebrating the season of the...Read more -
Joseph Ostraff
Collective Deliberations 23 Oct - 8 Nov 2020Nüart Gallery presents a solo exhibition of new paintings by Joseph Ostraff. The exhibition will run October 23rd through November 8th, 2020. Please join us for a virtual artist talk...Read more -
Abstractions Group Exhibition 2019
Shar Coulson, Cecil Touchon, Joseph Ostraff, Claire B Cotts, Rose Masterpol, & Anne Kaferle 8 - 24 Nov 2019Nüart Gallery is pleased to present, “ Abstractions 2019 ' a group exhibition of new work by six contemporary artists working in abstraction. The exhibition will run November 8 th...Read more