Joe Egan
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Artist Statement
My artwork is about inter-connectivity. The metaphysical energy that encompasses and intertwines all things animate and inanimate and is intrinsic to them, to us. These ideas and experiences are essential to my conceptual approach. The intellectual and expressive disciplines and entities intertwined are a huge influence to me. The range of influences is vast and can include anything from string theory, color theory, activity, and many more.
My visual language has developed over the years through a plethora of endeavors. My visual language incorporates the gesture and aesthetics of graffiti, the geometry of architecture, and living on the plane of existence and moving, traveling, resting on the horizon as well as the underground, and the celestial realms. The voyage of the self in these and being inter-connected within them is the epitome of my expression. There are different motivations and stories for each piece but ultimately through what I refer to as obsessive abstraction of interconnectivity I prefer for the viewer to determine what you see.
BUNKER is a group art show/pop up project that I began at my residence when I lived in the Bushwick area of Brooklyn from 2006-2015. The first show was titled "BUNKER" and took place 6/2014. The link for the website dedicated to the shows is below. There were four shows in total and were meant to develop
community. You can check out the websites I designed for the shows here BUNKER
Artist Bio
Joe grew up in New Brunswick, NJ. At an early age he became involved in skateboarding, punk rock, hardcore, techno, heavy metal, hip hop, and graffiti, and their at time separate and yet other times intertwining scenes. He was involved in all of those music scenes in New Jersey and in NYC promoting shows, DJing, and just helping people do theirs and do his DIY projects, showing support and love. As well as working construction for almost a decade he has also worked as a graphic designer. These two jobs have also influenced his style. Joe lived in NYC initially in 1997 and moved back to NJ to go to school at Rutgers/Mason Gross School of the Arts in 2000. He attained his B.F.A. and M.F.A. from there including numerous awards finishing in 2006. He then moved back to NYC and lived in Brooklyn for 10 years. Joe currently lives in NJ and works as an art handler during the day.
Curriculum Vitae
Selected Exhibitions-visual art
title of show | name of venue | location | |
---|---|---|---|
Solo | |||
2013 | Act of Jah-installation | Engineer's Office Gallery | Manhattan, NY |
2007 | Germination, Comparison, Expression | 717 Gallery | Brooklyn, NY |
Group | |||
2016 | Untitled | Christie's | Manhattan, NY |
2016 | Beg, Borrow, Steal (Recess Benefit) | Pioneer Works | Brooklyn, NY |
2016 | Love It or Hate It 10 | The Skinny | Manhattan, NY |
2016 | Never Blue | Con-artist Gallery | Manhattan, NY |
2015 | Welling Court Art Show | Welling Court | Queens, NYome text |
2015 | Deconstruct the Police State | BUNKER | Brooklyn, NY(artist/curator) |
2015 | No Apologies | Christie's | Manhattan, NY |
2015 | LoMan Art Fest | 114 Mulberry Street | Manhattan, NY |
2015 | Love it or Hate it | Casablanca Bar | Manhattan, NY |
2015 | Bushwick Open Studios | participant | Brooklyn, NY |
2015 | Down East Pop-up gallery NYC | Casablanca Bar | Manhattan, NY |
2015 | Making History-AIB 2015 Benefit | Ten Eyck Gallery | Brooklyn, NY (benefit) |
2015 | Lend a Hand for Connor Man | Eagles Nest Two | Stratsburg, NY (benefit) |
2015 | Forget Me Nots | Bunker | Brooklyn, NY (artist/curator) |
2015 | Natefest | Game Changer World | Howell, NJ (benefit) |
2014 | Day of the Dead show | BUNKER | Brooklyn (artist/curator) |
2014 | Bushwick Open Studios | participant | Brooklyn, NY |
2013 | BUNKER | BUNKER Gallery | Brooklyn, NY(artist/curator) |
2013 | The Salon | Christie's | Manhattan, NY |
2013 | Bushwick Open studios | artist's studio-participant | Brooklyn, NY |
2012 | photographer in Zefrey Throwell's | "Midtown Games" | Manhattan, NY |
2012 | Insider Art Show | Christie’s | Manhattan, NY |
2011 | From the Street | Max Fish | Manhattan, NY |
2011 | Insider Art Show | Christie’s | Manhattan, NY |
2010 | Insider Art Show | Christie’s | Manhattan, NY |
2010 | Day of the Dead | Kings County | Brooklyn, NY |
2009 | Staff Art Show | Christie’s | Manhattan, NY |
2009 | I Don’t Know | C Squat | Manhattan, NY |
2008 | Beautiful Debauchery | King’s County Bar | Brooklyn, NY |
2008 | Where we are, and how we got here | Texas Firehouse | Queens, NY |
2008 | Clothesline | ABC NO RIO | New York, NY (benefit) |
2007 | Benefit Show | Texas Firehouse | Queens, NY |
2007 | Streets 2K7 | Albus Cavus | New Brunswick, NJ |
2006 | Projekt 1 | Kalk Media Center | Cologne, Germany |
2006 | M.F.A. Thesis | Rutgers | New Brunswick, NJ |
2006 | Antogonist | Niagra Gallery | Manhattan, NY |
2006 | Works on Paper | Flux Factory | Queens, NY (benefit) |
2006 | Spectrum | Hogar Collection | Brooklyn, NY |
2005 | The Americans | Glass Moog | Cologne, Germany |
2005 | Welcome Back | Rutgers | New Brunswick, NJ |
2005 | Addicted to Bondo | Decrepit Space | New Brunswick, NJ |
2004 | First International Juried | SICA | Long Branch, NJ |
2004 | B.F.A. Thesis | Rutgers | New Brunswick, NJ |
2004 | Suitcase | Glass Moog | Cologne, Germany |
2004 | Art Open | Rutgers | New Brunswick, NJ |
2003 | Outer Space | LAB Gallery | Piscataway, NJ |
2002 | Art Open | Rutgers | New Brunswick, NJ |
2002 | One in Eight | RWJ Memorial Gallery | New Brunswick, NJ(benefit) |
2001 | Art Open | Rutgers | New Brunswick, NJ |
Education | |||
M.F.A. | 2006 | Sculpture/Painting | Rutgers/Mason Gross |
B.F.A. | 2004 | Sculpture | Rutgers/Mason Gross (Cum Laude) |
Grants/Awards | |
2004 | Paul Robeson Emerging Artist Award |
2004 | Juror’s Award SICA First International Juried Exhibit |
2003 | James O. Dumont grant |
Other Skills
I have a wide range of experiences in many areas from being a spur of the moment roadie for bands, an extra in T.V. commercials and on a couple television shows, as well as small roles in independent films to doing graphic design for album and CD artwork to singing back-up vocals on punk rock records. I also DJed for quite a while on the radio, in the clubs, and abandoned warehouse raves. I have also written record reviews for different types of electronic music for the fanzine Base 10 magazine while also doing a couple of electronic music projects over the years. All of this and many others were and are still enjoyed amidst writing graffiti and doing street art for over twenty years, which I still do, or do I?
Press | |
2012 | artsicle.com “Christie’s Insider Art Show” |
2011 | NY 1 television “Things to do in NY” |
2006 | Home News and Tribune, May, New Brunswick, NJ |
2003 | Asbury Park Press, May, Asbury Park, NJ |