Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Joseph Staley . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Joseph thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

Within the context of visual art, meaningful projects demand a clearly defined mission. They require intimate and mutually beneficial collaborations between artists and curators, and should spark thought-provoking conversations between the maker and their audience. In my experience, one such project found its footing at my contemporary art gallery in the Houston, Joseph Staley Projects. Titled Dimensional Disposition, my extensive inaugural exhibition united seventeen Texas-based artists in a group show with far-reaching implications. It encompassed depictions of dimensional space in all forms, from foreshortened geometric abstractions to cavernous explorations of pictorial depth, all within the context of diverse artistic mediums, including painting, sculpture, collage, and digitally rendered works.
I worked closely with the artists to choose the thematically appropriate pieces needed to initiate important dialogues between everyone involved, conversations that prompted questions greeted with nuanced and multi-layered answers.

Joseph , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Upon graduating from the University of Oklahoma with a degree in art history and history — the nation’s premiere institution for the study and scholarship of Native American art history and art of the American West — I returned to my hometown of The Woodlands, Texas where I helped launch the community’s first fine art gallery and cultural center, Glade Cultural Center. During my three year tenure, I served as the organization’s Executive Curator and ran its entire curatorial program, exercising creative control through exhibitions, art-related educational seminars and publications, community outreach, and artist interviews, activities supplemented by other culturally oriented tasks.
When the pandemic emerged, I reconsidered my career options as in-person art openings and visitations abruptly halted. I then decided to leave my position and focus more intensely on my art historical research and writing.
As a means to cope with pandemic boredom, I began making art in the form of photographic collage, with images manipulated both physically and digitally. I used social media as a marketing/selling strategy and became self-sustaining as a first time artist.
I then went on to launch a podcast devoted to contemporary art and culture (titled Double Take), published art criticism with Houston’s LGBT+ magazine, OutSmart, as well as acted as a curatorial advisor for various Texas-based arts non-profits.
Most art world curators insulate their career through a sole devotion to the study of art history. I chose to alter and compliment this practice and embrace both sides of the aisle, therefore placing myself in the same seat as the artists I curated.
I’m now pursuing my life-long dream of owning and operating my own curatorial project, Joseph Staley Projects, an endeavor that takes concrete form with exhibitions located in the heart of one of Houston’s most historic and culturally rich neighborhoods, Montrose.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

The core philosophy that binds my curatorial and artistic methodology is encapsulated in the idea of a double take. In other words, I produce and curate content that forces my audience to look, look away, and look back. I typically incorporate illusive “nuggets” of visually stimulating imagery that emerge upon close and careful examination, surreal components lurking in metaphorical shadows waiting to be uncovered by discerning eyes.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding part of being an artist, and what keeps me consistently motivated to continue, is the meditative process of making as a therapeutic venture. As a collage artist, there’s nothing more fulfilling than being inundated with a flood of disparate images and finding a way to create unity, balance, and cohesion, with the ultimate goal of trying to create something timeless.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/josephpstaley/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joseph.staley.3
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/mwlite/in/joseph-staley-b1b64a143

Image Credits
All the images are mine