Joe Sorren is one of my favorite artists currently working. I guess his work would fall under American conceptual lowbrow style, but I'm not really a big one for following these classifications, probably because there are so many genres, and it just gets to tricky. After falling in love with Yoshitomo Nara's work when I was in Japan, I started exploring some of the other great artists working in these newer forms, and found Sorren. And fell in love with his work. Beyond the breathtaking paintings and sculptures, Sorren is somehow able to capture the essence of the emotional response I get from his work with the most evocative and poetic titles.
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| Bump - © Joe Sorren |
Two things I really like about him (aside from the amazing art):
1. He was born in a suitcase factory in Chicago in 1970 (yes, you read that correctly)
2. He has two children, so I like him even more.
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| While the Trucks on the Highway All Howl - © Joe Sorren |
One of the really cool things about Joe Sorren is not some mythical hermit artist shrouded in mystery, he actually has a great blog that he updates from time to time, part of which is dedicated to the progress of one of his paintings; "Painting in Progress No. 1" which I found to be really intriguing.
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| Astraea - © Joe Sorren |
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| Corrina - © Joe Sorren |
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| Filling Little Thoughts with Little Ears - © Joe Sorren |
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| In the Morning, In the Tide (the annunciation) - © Joe Sorren |
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| Portrait of Isabelle Romee - © Joe Sorren |
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| Secrets Know No Morning - © Joe Sorren |
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| Study of Portrait of Painter with Brush - © Joe Sorren |
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| The Dance of All Hollows' Eve - © Joe Sorren |
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| The Luthier - © Joe Sorren |
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| The Mushroom Hunter - © Joe Sorren |
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| When She Was Camera - © Joe Sorren |
I'd love to get to see some of these in person at some point, but alas he's currently showing work in Rome, and I'm nowhere near. But, for anyone that is able, it's at the Dorothy Circus Gallery. Check out more of his work here.