Joseph Pendergast makes paintings that are filled with idyllic images of leaves, birds, and insects —subjects that repeat in wallpaper-like compositions, showing the artist’s love of romantic design and pattern. He uses stenciling and stamping, with fluid brushwork and bright color in his paintings that have a distinctly tropical character.
The general theme of his work is about beauty and nature, and also he says, about the “transcendental possibilities of paint itself”. The artist describes his imagery as symbolic, decorative emblems and says he wants people to have a calming visual experience from his work, “with sensations of repetition and beauty.”
Born in Louisiana, U.S.A. in 1967, Pendergast grew up in Texas and began studies in art at an early age. He received a bachelor of fine arts degree in painting from the University of Texas at Austin. He received a master of fine arts degree in painting, with a Certificate of Excellence Award from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York.
Since the year 2000, he has traveled extensively and lived in various countries including Chile, Switzerland, and Brazil. He had his first solo exhibition after Pratt Institute in 2004, at Galerie Hors-Jeu in Geneva. His most recent solo exhibition took place at the Daher Hospital Cultural Space in Brasília, Brazil, during June and July 2011, and was entitled “Terreno Paraíso, Heavenly Terrain.”
He currently makes his new home in Gex, France, since autumn 2011.
Joe Pendergast
1967 born in Louisiana, United States
Lives and works in Gex, France
Education
BFA Univ of Texas at Austin
MFA Pratt Institute
Merit Award for Excellence, Pratt Institute
