[Joseph Gerges]

Joseph Gerges


Based on found imagery from the 1960’s and 70’s as well as childhood memories of my Egyptian-American upbringing, my most recent work explores the presence of God and war in the context of current events. By combining my examination of my early childhood with my investigation of themes that counterbalance the tension of violence and conflict, the paintings and drawings become simultaneously heroic and confrontational.

I approach my work by combining figurative realism, abstraction, drawing, and painting into a distinct tour de force statement on a museum scale. The largest pieces range in size from seven feet in height to twenty feet in length. The compositions are arranged to emphasize the action in the scene whilst capturing a moment that might be otherwise ignored. Images of mortality and brutality are heightened by the contrast between the abstract space, the figure ground relationships, and the large scale of the art.
As a young artist in today’s society my principal goal is to use my work to try to illuminate the questions that are bound by the limitations of our language. I feel as if art should elevate the viewer from the familiarity of the daily mundane into a state of contemplation and evaluation, so that when the gallery experience is over, the taste of the artwork lingers on. My desire is to create art that is historically and culturally relevant and that helps to shape us as individuals, a society, and as a diversified culture.

Joseph Gerges The Samaritan, 2006 Oil and acrylic on canvas 75 x 50 inches 07245

Joseph Gerges A Penny For Your Thoughts, 2004 Charcoal and graphite on paper 50 x 42 inches 07249

Joseph Gerges Fighting Amoungst Friends II, 2005 Charcoal and graphite on paper 80 x 48 inches 07248

Joseph Gerges They Watch As I Bleed, 2005 Charcoal, graphite and colored pencil on paper 57 x 44 inches 07250

Joseph Gerges Respite, 2006 Oil and acrylic on canvas 72 x 44 inches 07246