Bright, complex abstract paintings by Los Angeles artist Joshua Aster are featured in an exhibition opening October 27 in the Harold J. Miossi Art Gallery at Cuesta College’s San Luis Obispo campus.
Paintings in the exhibit, Physicality of Joy, were inspired according to Aster by a flickering and fleeting view of the surrounding world through fluttering fingers. The 25 works, both small and large, incorporate triangular grids and artist-made tempera paint.
Painting these has been a meditation on memories, hopes, patterns, love, and fears woven to create a physicality of joy.” ~ Joshua Aster
“Some other paintings are started with painted everyday floor patterns interspersed with current events in the news that are upsetting,” Aster says. “To me, this feels like the undertow that runs beneath our fragile existence. Painting these has been a meditation on memories, hopes, patterns, love, and fears woven to create a physicality of joy.”
Aster received his MFA from UCLA, and his work has been featured in LA Weekly and The Los Angeles Times. He is also a founding member of the artist collective OJO, and has presented work at The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, and LACE in Hollywood. You might also catch his work on the 2022 Amazon Prime TV show, “Cosmic Love.”
An opening reception for Physicality of Joy is scheduled from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. on October 27.
Admission to the gallery is free, and the exhibit runs through December 16.