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Joe Houston - Artists - PPOW

Joe Houston, 2021

Since first exhibiting with P·P·O·W in 1986, Joe Houston (b. 1962) has distilled incisive environmental and social concerns into modestly scaled paintings of commonplace objects and gestures. Executed with exacting detail and nuance, his evocative works also serve as a meditation on the precarious endeavor of painting in our time. Initiated in 2018, Houston’s most recent body of work is centered on the damaged genitalia of ancient Greek and Roman statuaries as displayed in museums throughout Europe and North America. In Houston’s intimate paintings, isolated acts of iconoclasm are emblematic of the body as a perennial site of religious, political, and societal contestation. Houston pursued undergraduate studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and earned his MFA from Northwestern University’s Department of Art Theory & Practice. His honors include an Illinois Arts Council Fellowship, a Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant, and residencies at Yaddo, MacDowell and the Bemis Foundation. Houston’s work is in numerous public collections including the Allen Memorial Arts Museum, Oberlin, OH; MIT List Visual Arts Center, Cambridge, MA; RISD Museum, Providence, RI; Vehbi Koç Foundation, Istanbul, Turkey; and Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT.

Joe Houston

b. 1962
Lives and works in Kansas City, MO

Education

1995    
MFA, Northwestern University Department of Art Theory and Practice, Evanston, IL
Undergraduate studies at School of the Art Institute of Chicago, IL, and San Antonio Art Institute, TX

Solo Exhibitions

2021    
RUINS, P·P·O·W, New York, NY

1993    
P·P·O·W, New York, NY

1986    
P·P·O·W, New York, NY

1984    
Contemporary Art Workshop, Chicago, IL

Select Group Exhibitions

2023
After that blue, Fragment Gallery, New York, NY 

2021    
Tidal Motion, P·P·O·W and Joe Sheftel, Provincetown, MA

2018    
The Armory Show, P·P·O·W, New York, NY

1996    
EXPO Chicago, P·P·O·W, New York, NY

1995    
Surfacing, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL

1994    
Intimate Observations, Baxter Art Gallery, Portland School of Art, Portland, ME
Reality and Beyond, Bemis Center for Contemporary Art, Omaha, NE
Critic’s Choice, Zolla/Lieberman Gallery, Chicago, IL

1993    
Recent Acquisitions, Bemis Center for Contemporary Art, Omaha, NE

1991    
Expressive Voices and Exquisite Visions: Two Aspects of the Art of the 80’s, Meadowbrook Art Gallery, Oakland University, Rochester, MI
Art for Your Collection, Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI

1990    
Group Exhibition, P·P·O·W, New York, NY

1989    
Small Format, Lang and O’Hara, New York, NY
Chicago Visions, University of the South Gallery and Museum, Sewanee, TN
10 Years: Invitational Exhibition, Randolph Street Gallery, Chicago, IL

1988    
Un/Natural Visions, Gwenda Jay Gallery, Chicago, IL
Small Works/ BIG IDEAS, Harper College, Palatine, IL
Figurative Imagery, Contemporary Art Workshop, Chicago, IL
VIEWS: The Contemporary American Landscape, University of the South Gallery and Museum, Sewanee, TN
Group Exhibition, P·P·O·W, New York, NY

1987    
Waterworks, SSC&B Lintas Worldwide, Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, New York, NY
The 8th Chicago International Art Exposition, P·P·O·W, New York, NY

1986    
The Fire and Ice of Black and White, P·P·O·W, New York, NY; Contemporary Art Workshop, Chicago, IL

1985    
Very Small, Randolph Street Gallery, Chicago, IL
East Village au Centres, Centre Saidye Bronfman Montreal, Canada
New Work, P·P·O·W, New York, NY

1984    
The 80th Exhibition by Artists of Chicago and Vicinity, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
6/6: 10th Annual Exhibition of Illinois Artists, Artemisia Gallery, Chicago, IL

1983    
Group Invitational, Contemporary Art Workshop, Chicago, IL

1982    
The School Show, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL

Grants & Fellowships

1994    
Northwestern University Fellowship

1993    
Bemis Foundation Residency

1991    
Bemis Foundation Residency

1989    
Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant
MacDowell Colony Fellowship
Yaddo Residency

1987    
Illinois Arts Council Fellowship

1984    
John G. Curtis, Jr. Prize for Painting, The Art Institute of Chicago

Select Collections

Allen Memorial Arts Museum, Oberlin, OH
BHF Bank, New York, NY
Community Arts Inc., San Francisco, CA
List Center for Visual Arts, Cambridge, MA
Museum of Nebraska Art, Kearney, NE
New York State Education Department, Albany, NY
Progressive Corporation, Mayfield Village, OH
RISD Museum, Providence, RI
Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT

Selected Works

Selected Works Thumbnails
Joe Houston, Ruin XXII, 2021

Joe Houston
Ruin XXII, 2021
oil on linen mounted to wood
10 5/8 x 9 5/8 ins.
27 x 24.4 cm

Joe Houston Torch 2, 2022

Joe Houston
Torch 2, 2022
oil on linen mounted to wood
27 1/2 x 27 1/2 ins.
69.8 x 69.8 cm

Joe Houston, Colossus IV, 2021

Joe Houston
Colossus IV, 2021
oil on linen
22 x 20 ins.
55.9 x 50.8 cm

Joe Houston, HOLD, 2018

Joe Houston
HOLD, 2018
oil on linen
17 1/2 x 15 5/8 ins.
44.5 x 39.7 cm

Joe Houston, VIEW, 2018

Joe Houston
VIEW, 2018
oil on linen
36 1/8 x 35 1/2 ins.
91.8 x 90.2 cm

Joe Houston, Mourn, 1993

Joe Houston
Mourn, 1993
oil on linen
5 x 5 ins.
12.7 x 12.7 cm

Joe Houston, Ruin XXII, 2021

Joe Houston
Ruin XXII, 2021
oil on linen mounted to wood
10 5/8 x 9 5/8 ins.
27 x 24.4 cm

Joe Houston Torch 2, 2022

Joe Houston
Torch 2, 2022
oil on linen mounted to wood
27 1/2 x 27 1/2 ins.
69.8 x 69.8 cm

Joe Houston, Colossus IV, 2021

Joe Houston
Colossus IV, 2021
oil on linen
22 x 20 ins.
55.9 x 50.8 cm

Joe Houston, HOLD, 2018

Joe Houston
HOLD, 2018
oil on linen
17 1/2 x 15 5/8 ins.
44.5 x 39.7 cm

Joe Houston, VIEW, 2018

Joe Houston
VIEW, 2018
oil on linen
36 1/8 x 35 1/2 ins.
91.8 x 90.2 cm

Joe Houston, Mourn, 1993

Joe Houston
Mourn, 1993
oil on linen
5 x 5 ins.
12.7 x 12.7 cm