Joshua Meyer (born 1974,

Lubbock, Texas Lubbock ( ) is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the northw ...

, United States) is an American artist, based in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...

. He earned his B.A. from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

and also studied at the

Bezalel Academy Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design ( he, בצלאל, אקדמיה לאמנות ועיצוב) is a public college of design and art located in Jerusalem. Established in 1906 by Jewish painter and sculptor Boris Schatz, Bezalel is Israel's oldest ...

in Jerusalem. He is known for his oil paintings of people, and for a searching process by which they emerge, trail off, wander, get lost, experiment and reemerge.''Tohu vaVohu: Hebrew College presents paintings by Joshua Meyer,'' catalog, essay by Dr. Steve Copeland (Hebrew College), June 2004. This searching quality is characterized by a thick texture in many of his paintings, influenced by

Alberto Giacometti Alberto Giacometti (, , ; 10 October 1901 – 11 January 1966) was a Swiss sculptor, painter, draftsman and printmaker. Beginning in 1922, he lived and worked mainly in Paris but regularly visited his hometown Borgonovo to see his family and ...

Frank Auerbach Frank Helmut Auerbach (born 29 April 1931) is a German-British painter. Born in Germany, he has been a naturalised British subject since 1947. He is considered one of the leading names in the School of London, with fellow artists Francis Bacon ...

, and

Rembrandt van Rijn Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consid ...

. Every painting emerges from struggle and re-evaluation.''Becoming, ''catalog, essay by Dr. Sharrona Pearl (Yale Slifka Center and NYU Bronfman Center), May 2006. The artist's work has been shown in galleries and museums across the United States, Europe and Asia, including ''Eight Approaches'' at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, a solo exhibition, ''Tohu vaVohu'' at the

Hebrew College Hebrew College is a private college of Jewish studies in Newton Centre, Massachusetts. Founded in 1921, Hebrew College is committed to Jewish scholarship in a pluralistic, trans-denominational academic environment. The president of the college i ...

in Boston (2004), and ''Becoming''New Haven Register, ''Heavily textured 'Becoming' draws from primitive energy'', Judy Birke, May 21, 2006. (2006) at the Yale Slifka Center and

NYU Bronfman Center New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

. “Commanding visions,” emerge from the midst of Meyer’s thickly layered paint, according to Hebrew College Professor Steven Copeland in the introduction to the 2004 ''Tohu vaVohu'' catalog. “He engages...fateful questions concerning the character of art and of Judaism, their possibilities, challenges and problems.” Meyer’s subjects play a hide-and-seek game with the viewer, often dissolving into the paint. According to

Allegra Goodman Allegra Goodman (born 1967) is an American author based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Goodman wrote and illustrated her first novel at the age of seven. Biography Allegra Goodman was born in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in Hawaii. The daughter ...

, in the introduction to the 2013 exhibition catalog ''Rustle, Sparkle, Flutter, Float,'' these people “will reveal themselves, and they will disappear. Look at them up close and they scatter, self-effacing.” The figures are elusive and appear introspective. “Some artists try to depict our world. Meyer presents people in their own worlds, and invites us to enter.” Meyer is a recipient of a

Pollock-Krasner Foundation The Pollock-Krasner Foundation was established in 1985 for the purpose of providing financial assistance to individual working artists of established ability. It was established at the bequest of Lee Krasner, who was an American abstract expression ...

Grant as well as the

Sustainable Arts Foundation Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livin ...

Award, and a 2010 Painting Fellowship from the

Massachusetts Cultural Council Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

. Meyer’s work has been written up in The San Francisco Chronicle, The Forward, The Philadelphia Metro, New Haven Register, Art New England, The Boston Phoenix and The Boston Globe.

References

External links

Official Website
#
Tohu vaVohu
' catalog #
Becoming
' catalog
''JUXTAPOSITIONS: Joshua Meyer on Chaos, Painting and the Many Shades of Gray''
Artist Joshua Meyer discusses his painting process in this studio visit and interview by Evelyn Herwitz.
Rice Polak Gallery, Provincetown

Dolby Chadwick Gallery, SF
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meyer, Joshua Jewish American artists Yale University alumni 1974 births Living people Painters from Massachusetts American contemporary painters 21st-century American Jews