About

Bio

I moved from Los Angeles to Tucson in the summer of 2005. My goal was to simplify my life in a more positive and creative environment. I've reconnected with old friends from my undergrad days at the University of Arizona and met many exciting new people here.

Having a history of making art in other places and suddenly, by choice, being in a new place with a newly acquired anonymity felt comfortable and right. Since my arrival in Tucson I have been able to paint almost everyday. With this new freedom I have had the time to explore new ideas and themes which have interested me for years. It is my intention to continue on this path. With this new work, and more to come, I feel excited and it is important to me to share these paintings with the community.

Statement

I am a painter. My current focus is desert flora and how I see and react to its color, shape, and texture. In my process of painting or collage making I attempt to tell a visual story of the cacti's individual nature.

The importance of process and its relationship to image is always foremost in my mind. My main goal is to get in touch with the feelings and experiences I personally have toward my subjects, personalizing them into an image that feels right to me. The image moves between representation and abstraction and usually finds its place in the middle.

Painting from the inside out, I intuitively arrange the elements on the picture plane, exercising the paint into images that convey my experience and have a unified formal structure. Recently my painting surface has become more expressionistic with layers of thick paint and vigorous, lively marks on top of intense, colorful transparent washes. When successful, the entire emotional and physical process of creating the image becomes a shared event with the viewer and challenges their perception.

Resume

EDUCATION

• 1975 MFA, Painting, University of Iowa
• 1974 MA, Painting, University of Iowa
• 1972 BFA, Painting, University of Arizona

SPECIAL RECOGNITION

• 2007 Individual Artist Grant, Visual Arts, Tucson Pima Arts Council, Tucson, Arizona
• 2006 Visiting Artist, Rancho Linda Vista, Oracle, Arizona
• 1978-1979 Artist-in-Residence, Ford Foundation Grant, University of Georgia

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

• 2005-Present Instructor, Basic Design, Drawing and Watercolor I
  Pima Community College, Tucson, Arizona
• 2005 Spring Professor, Beginning and Advanced Painting
  University of Georgia Studies Abroad, Cortona, Italy
• 1998-2001 Instructor, 2-D Design
  Moorpark College, Moorpark, California
• 1981-1982 Instructor, 2-D/3-D Design and Color Theory
  Georgia Southern College, Statesboro, Georgia
• 1978 Instructor, Painting
  University of Georgia Studies Abroad Program, Cortona, Italy
• 1977-1978 Instructor, Design
  California State University at Sacramento, California
• 1973-1975 Teaching Assistant, Art Forms I, Painting I, Watercolor, and Analytical Drawing, University of Iowa

NON-TEACHING EXPERIENCE

• 2009, 2010 Co-Chair, Open Studio Tour Committee
  Tucson Pima Arts Council, Tucson, Arizona
• 2009 Public Art Panel Member
  Tucson Pima Arts Council, Tucson, Arizona
• 2007, 2008 Grant Panel Member
  Tucson Pima Arts Council, Tucson, Arizona
• 2006-2010 Committee Member, Open Studio Tour
  Tucson Pima Arts Council, Tucson, Arizona
• 1988, 1990 "Out Reach" Art Workshops
  Barnsdall Park, Los Angeles, California
• 1981 Workshop Leader in Painting
  State High School Art Symposium, Athens, Georgia
• 1979-1981 Academic Advisor
  University of Georgia, College of Arts and Sciences, Athens, Georgia
• 1976 Guest Lecturer in Painting
  California State University at Sacramento, California
• 1974 Multi Media & Video Workshop
  Center for New Performing Arts, Iowa City, Iowa

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

• 2009 Obsidian Gallery, Tucson, Arizona
• 2007 ArtCulture Partnership Gallery, Exhibit with Artist Slide Lecture, Tucson, Arizona
• 2007 Rancho Linda Vista, Summer Residency Show, Oracle, Arizona
• 2002 Orlando Gallery, Encino, California
• 1996 City Center Gallery, Burbank, California
• 1992 Moorpark College, Moorpark, California
• 1982 Georgia Southern College, Statesboro, Georgia
• 1981 Quinlan Art Center, Gainesville, Georgia
• 1979 Forrest Avenue Consortium, Atlanta, Georgia
• 1979 University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia
• 1976 Sacramento City College, Sacramento, California
• 1976 Artist's Contemporary Gallery, Sacramento, California
• 1974 University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa.

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

• 2009-Present Obsidian Gallery, Staint Philip's Plaza, Tucson, Arizona
• 2011 Davis Dominguez Gallery, 19th Small Works Invitational, Tucson, Arizona
• 2011 Pattern and Rhythm, Tohono Chul Park Gallery, Tucson, Arizona
• 2010 Jewish Community Center Gallery, Studio Tour Artists, Tucson, Arizona
• 2010 Lulubell Toy Bodega and Art Gallery, Los Dias de Los Muertos, Tucson, Arizona
• 2009 Raices Taller 222 Art Gallery & Workshop, How Brown Am I?, Tucson, Arizona
• 2009 Gallery 801, Studio Tour Artists, Tucson, Arizona
• 2008 Galeria Mistica, Studio Tour Artists, Tucson, Arizona
• 2008 Dinnerware Contemporary Arts Gallery, Dream Makers: New Works from Citizens Warehouse, Tucson, Arizona
• 2007 Raices Taller 222 Art Gallery & Workshop, ¡Carnaval!, Tucson, Arizona
• 2007 RLV Gallery at Rancho Linda Vista, Two Artist Show with Bruce Houston, Oracle, Arizona
• 2006 Faculty Show, University of Georgia Studies Abroad, Cortona, Italy
• 2006 Raices Taller 222 Art Gallery & Workshop, Small Works Show, Tucson, Arizona
• 2005 Pima Community College Faculty Show, Clements Center Gallery, Tucson, Arizona
• 2005 Mostra, La Primavera, UGA Faculty and Student Exhibition, Cortona, Italy
• 2001 Neighbors, Moorpark College, Moorpark, California
• 2001 From the Drawing Room, Pierce College, Woodland Hills, California
• 1998 Moorpark College Faculty Exhibition, Moorpark, California
• 1982 9th Annual Juried Exhibition, Athens, Georgia
• 1981 Georgia Southern College Faculty Exhibition, Statesboro, Georgia
• 1981 8th Annual Juried Exhibition, Athens, Georgia
• 1980 7th Annual Juried Exhibition, Athens, Georgia
• 1979 Spectrum #1, Athens, Georgia
• 1978 University of Georgia Studies Abroad Program, Cortona, Italy
• 1976 Crocker-Kingsley Annual, Sacramento, California
• 1976 Artist's Contemporary Gallery, Sacramento, California
• 1975 Artist's Contemporary Gallery, Sacramento, California
• 1975 University of Iowa MFA Graduates' Show, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
• 1975 Iowa State Historical Society
• 1975 Galex IX, Galesburg, Illinois
• 1975 University of Iowa
• 1974 12th Mid-Mississippi, Davenport, Iowa
• 1974 26th Annual, Des Moines, Iowa
• 1974 8th Annual, Muscatine, Iowa
• 1974 Tri-State Exhibition, Platteville, Wisconsin

Works in private collections in Florida, Georgia, Iowa, California, Texas, Arizona and Cortona, Italy.

To make an art purchase or studio appointment email hello@joehattonart.com