JOSHUA FLINT

The Night Garden is a new series of works comprising landscapes, interior spaces, and figuration; an otherworldly environment that is as much real as it is mythical. The scenes, in varying degree of technicolor, radiate with uncanny skies, glowing bodies of water, and characters navigating these liminal moments. The shifting atmospheres hover between day and night, where dream logic and the unconscious play. The paintings include personal, historical, and mythological references drawing inspiration from film, solar events like Aurora Borealis, and science fiction. The work focuses on themes of journey, connectivity, transcendence, and the profound joy of nature in all its mysteries. Boston’s maritime and art historical significance is also included specifically for this show. There are odes to Winslow Homer’s dramatic seascapes found in ‘Night Gardeners.’ In ‘Mother of Dawn’ there’s an outpost structure echoing the one found in ‘Searchlight on Harbor Entrance, Santiago de Cuba, 1902.’ At the heart of these works is an exploration of the complexities of ephemerality and the everlasting.

b. 1977, Merced, California
Lives and works in Portland, OR

Flint’s work is based on images curated from many sources such as digitized museum archives, vintage shops, and social media platforms. The paintings fluctuate between the familiar and the unknown while simultaneously including the past and present. By rearranging the hierarchy of elements the paintings become fictions that allow countless interpretations. Layered into works are references to liminality, ecological issues, neuroscience, psychological states, and the history of painting, among others.

The images sourced from out-of-date materials hold a special fascination. Much like observing the ruins of an old, grand building or a church in a state of decay, the characters and objects that populate his paintings are employed to create a sense of ephemerality, imbuing the work with a kind of fascination and anxiety, over the passage of time. Used in this way they serve as reminders that cutting edge trends and novelty will evolve into new iterations or be abandoned altogether. In addition, most of the photos incorporated into the works do not contain elements that were directed or photographed by the artist, all of which allows a certain distance to reinterpret as he sees fit. Flint says, “I can see this person or place in a photograph but know nothing about what is going on beyond those paper borders. That ambiguity, between the seen and unseen, between the real and the imaginary, is where my paintings live.”

Exhibitions

2014
Solo Exhibition | Sloane Merrill Gallery | Boston, MA

2013
American Parables: Solo Exhibition | Robert Lange Studios | Charleston, SC
Group Exhibition | Robert Lange Studios | Charleston, SC

2004
Oil Painters of America National Show | Howard Mandville Gallery | Kirkland, WA
La Petite XI National Small Format Show | Alder Gallery | Coburg, OR

2002 | Fine Art Spring Show | Academy of Art University | San Francisco, CA

Selected Awards & Contributions

2011 | Regional Artist Project Grant | Wake County, NC

2010 | Give or Take Art Auction | Artspace | Raleigh, NC

2008
Children's Cancer Association | Annual Gala Event | Portland, OR
Art Institute of Portland | Pocket Change Fundraiser | Portland, OR

2003 | Portland Art Museum | Colombia Riverkeeper Art Auction | Portland, OR

Education

1998-2002
Academy of Art University | Bachelor of Fine Arts | San Francisco, CA

2011
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art | Vincent Desiderio Master Class

2005
China Academy of Arts with Quan Shan Shi | Hang Zhou, China
China Academy of Arts with Gou Gang | Shanghai, China
Jove Wang Workshop, Jove Wang Studios | Los Angeles, CA.

2004
Fechin Artists Workshops | Carolyn Anderson | Taos, NM

2001 & 2002
Work Scholar | Academy of Art University | San Francisco, CA

Selected Reviews & Publications

2012
"Featured Artist" | American Art Collector | July Issue

2011
"Featured Artist" | American Art Collector | June Issue

2010
"Featured Artist" | American Art Collector | September Issue
"Featured Artist" | American Art Collector | July Issue

2007
Astoria Arts Festival | Cover Artist | Summer Issue

2006
Southwest Art Magazine | Featured in "Ten Artists on the Rise in 2006" | January Issue

2005
"Featured Artist" | The Grove Review | Fall Issue

Teaching Experience

2012
Pacific Northwest College of Art | Adjunct Professor | Portland, OR

2010
Artspace - Visual Art Center | Instructor | Raleigh, NC

2009
Pacific Northwest College of Art | Adjunct Professor | Portland, OR

2008
Pacific Northwest College of Art | Continuing Education Instructor | Portland, OR

2006
Lake Oswego Foundation for the Arts | Artist in Residence | Lake Oswego, OR

Public Collections
City of Astoria, Oregon.